Hawkins, Inc. $HWKN Shares Sold by Credit Agricole S A

Key Points

• Credit Agricole S A has reduced its stake in Hawkins, Inc. by 44.5%, selling 6,063 shares and leaving it with 7,571 shares valued at approximately $802,000.
• Hawkins has announced a quarterly dividend increase from $0.18 to $0.19 per share, with a yield of 0.4%, reflecting a dividend payout ratio of 18.72%.
• Analysts have varying ratings on Hawkins, with one strong buy, two buys, and one hold, while the average target price is set at $162.50.

Credit Agricole S A reduced its holdings in shares of Hawkins, Inc. (NASDAQ:HWKN - Free Report) by 44.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 7,571 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 6,063 shares during the period. Credit Agricole S A's holdings in Hawkins were worth $802,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of HWKN. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. grew its position in Hawkins by 31.5% during the 1st quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 599,015 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $63,448,000 after purchasing an additional 143,425 shares during the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Hawkins by 37.6% in the first quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 350,722 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $37,148,000 after acquiring an additional 95,885 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Hawkins by 157,110.0% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 94,326 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $9,991,000 after acquiring an additional 94,266 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Hawkins by 291.5% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 86,100 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $10,562,000 after acquiring an additional 64,110 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Hawkins by 12,653.7% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 56,244 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $59,570,000 after acquiring an additional 55,803 shares in the last quarter. 69.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Hawkins Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ HWKN traded down $2.49 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $167.33. The company had a trading volume of 95,760 shares, compared to its average volume of 183,241. The company has a quick ratio of 1.45, a current ratio of 2.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. Hawkins, Inc. has a twelve month low of $98.30 and a twelve month high of $185.50. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $161.22 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $132.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.81.

Hawkins (NASDAQ:HWKN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $293.27 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $278.76 million. Hawkins had a net margin of 8.37% and a return on equity of 18.35%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Hawkins, Inc. will post 4 earnings per share for the current year.

Hawkins Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th were given a dividend of $0.19 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 15th. This is an increase from Hawkins's previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. Hawkins's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.72%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on HWKN. Raymond James Financial began coverage on shares of Hawkins in a report on Thursday, July 24th. They issued a "market perform" rating on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Hawkins from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, July 5th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Hawkins to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. Finally, BWS Financial raised their price objective on shares of Hawkins from $160.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $162.50.

About Hawkins

Hawkins, Inc operates as a specialty chemical and ingredients company in the United States. It operates through three segments: Industrial, Water Treatment, and Health and Nutrition. The Industrial segment offers industrial chemicals, products, and services to agriculture, chemical processing, electronics, energy, food, pharmaceutical, and plating industries.