Congress Asset Management Co. Increases Stock Holdings in Hawkins, Inc. $HWKN

Key Points

• Congress Asset Management Co. increased its Hawkins stake by 10.9% in Q4 to 152,659 shares worth about $21.69 million, representing roughly 0.73% of the company.
• Director James A. Faulconbridge purchased 1,500 shares on Feb. 4, raising his direct holdings to 50,907 shares, and insiders now own about 4.10% of Hawkins.
• Hawkins shares have risen (opened $147.75), but the company missed Q4 estimates (EPS $0.72 vs. $0.75; revenue $244.08M vs. $252.51M); analysts have a consensus Hold rating with a $162.50 price target and the stock yields 0.5% annually.

Congress Asset Management Co. increased its stake in shares of Hawkins, Inc. (NASDAQ:HWKN - Free Report) by 10.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 152,659 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after buying an additional 14,947 shares during the quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. owned 0.73% of Hawkins worth $21,687,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of HWKN. Salomon & Ludwin LLC purchased a new position in Hawkins during the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. First Horizon Corp bought a new stake in shares of Hawkins in the 3rd quarter worth $34,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Hawkins by 62.2% in the third quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd now owns 300 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its holdings in shares of Hawkins by 694.1% in the third quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 405 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $74,000 after purchasing an additional 354 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Advisory Services Network LLC bought a new position in shares of Hawkins during the third quarter valued at about $79,000. 69.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director James A. Faulconbridge bought 1,500 shares of Hawkins stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 4th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $129.29 per share, with a total value of $193,935.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 50,907 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,581,766.03. The trade was a 3.04% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 4.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hawkins Trading Up 5.0%

Shares of Hawkins stock opened at $147.75 on Wednesday. Hawkins, Inc. has a 1 year low of $101.72 and a 1 year high of $186.15. The firm has a market cap of $3.09 billion, a PE ratio of 37.41, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.82. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $145.00 and a 200-day moving average price of $149.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 2.35 and a quick ratio of 1.46.

Hawkins (NASDAQ:HWKN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.72 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.75 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $244.08 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $252.51 million. Hawkins had a return on equity of 16.85% and a net margin of 7.75%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Hawkins, Inc. will post 4 EPS for the current year.

Hawkins Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 13th were paid a $0.19 dividend. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 13th. Hawkins's payout ratio is presently 19.24%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on HWKN. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Hawkins from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Monday, January 12th. BWS Financial reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $200.00 price objective on shares of Hawkins in a research note on Monday. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Hawkins from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, January 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Hawkins presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $162.50.

Hawkins Profile

Hawkins, Inc NASDAQ: HWKN is a specialty chemical company that produces and distributes water-treatment and industrial chemicals across North America. Founded in 1938 and headquartered in Roseville, Minnesota, the company has built a network of manufacturing facilities and distribution centers that serve municipal, industrial and commercial customers. As a publicly traded entity, Hawkins leverages its long-standing presence in the chemical distribution industry to provide tailored solutions for complex water-treatment challenges and specialty chemical needs.

Hawkins' product portfolio encompasses a wide range of chemicals, including sodium hypochlorite, sodium hydroxide, hydrogen peroxide, chlorine, acids and specialty blends.

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