California State Teachers Retirement System Increases Stock Position in Hawkins, Inc. $HWKN

Key Points

• California State Teachers Retirement System increased its Hawkins stake by 14,584.4% in the second quarter, acquiring 3.27 million additional shares. It ended the quarter with 15.78% ownership, while institutional investors collectively held 69.71% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed: Hawkins has a consensus “Hold” rating and a $171 price target, with ratings ranging from “Buy” to “Strong Sell.”
• Hawkins insiders recently bought shares, including purchases by the CFO and a vice president, while the company reported quarterly EPS of $1.35—slightly below estimates—alongside revenue of $315.68 million, above expectations.

California State Teachers Retirement System raised its position in Hawkins, Inc. (NASDAQ:HWKN - Free Report) by 14,584.4% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,294,304 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after purchasing an additional 3,271,870 shares during the quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System owned 15.78% of Hawkins worth $468,121,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Hawkins in the second quarter valued at about $449,055,000. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Hawkins by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 513,535 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $72,965,000 after acquiring an additional 13,828 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its position in Hawkins by 34.4% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 477,985 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $67,903,000 after acquiring an additional 122,366 shares in the last quarter. Bowen Hanes & Co. Inc. raised its stake in shares of Hawkins by 4.3% during the first quarter. Bowen Hanes & Co. Inc. now owns 380,520 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $58,448,000 after purchasing an additional 15,550 shares during the period. Finally, William Blair Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hawkins during the second quarter worth $27,212,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.71% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on HWKN. Barclays set a $142.00 price objective on shares of Hawkins and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Weiss Ratings cut Hawkins from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 27th. BWS Financial reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $200.00 price target on shares of Hawkins in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Hawkins from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $171.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Hawkins news, CFO Jeffrey Oldenkamp acquired 1,290 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 27th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $119.00 per share, with a total value of $153,510.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 104,223 shares in the company, valued at $12,402,537. The trade was a 1.25% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Douglas Lange acquired 910 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 25th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $118.75 per share, with a total value of $108,062.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the vice president directly owned 28,169 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,345,068.75. This represents a 3.34% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 3.70% of the company's stock.

Hawkins Price Performance

Shares of Hawkins stock opened at $120.67 on Tuesday. Hawkins, Inc. has a 52 week low of $116.04 and a 52 week high of $186.15. The company has a current ratio of 2.27, a quick ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The stock has a market cap of $2.52 billion, a PE ratio of 31.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.77. The company's 50-day moving average price is $130.54 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $145.66.

Hawkins (NASDAQ:HWKN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.35 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.39 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $315.68 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $313.42 million. Hawkins had a return on equity of 15.42% and a net margin of 7.29%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Hawkins, Inc. will post 4.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hawkins Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 28th. Investors of record on Friday, August 14th were issued a $0.19 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 14th. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. Hawkins's dividend payout ratio is currently 20.73%.

Hawkins Profile

Hawkins, Inc NASDAQ: HWKN manufactures, distributes and blends specialty chemicals and related products for customers in a range of markets. Its offerings include water-treatment chemicals, industrial chemicals, and ingredients used in health, nutrition and other applications.

The company's Water Treatment segment supplies products such as sodium hypochlorite, ferric chloride, phosphates and other chemicals used by municipalities, commercial operators and industrial customers. Its Industrial segment serves manufacturers and other businesses, while the Health and Nutrition segment provides ingredients and specialty products for food, pharmaceutical, personal-care and related applications.

Founded in 1938, Hawkins is headquartered in Roseville, Minnesota, and serves customers primarily throughout the United States through a network of manufacturing, blending, distribution and storage facilities.

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