Hawkins, Inc. $HWKN Shares Sold by EFG Asset Management North America Corp.

Key Points

• EFG Asset Management North America Corp. has reduced its stake in Hawkins, Inc. by 15.5%, now holding about 28,648 shares worth $3,040,000.
• Hawkins, Inc. recently increased its quarterly dividend to $0.19 from $0.18, with an annualized dividend of $0.76 and a yield of 0.5%.
• Multiple research firms have provided mixed ratings for Hawkins, with one analyst upgrading it to a strong-buy and the consensus price target set at $162.50.

EFG Asset Management North America Corp. trimmed its holdings in shares of Hawkins, Inc. (NASDAQ:HWKN - Free Report) by 15.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 28,648 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 5,238 shares during the period. EFG Asset Management North America Corp. owned about 0.14% of Hawkins worth $3,040,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Brooklyn Investment Group raised its stake in shares of Hawkins by 533.3% during the 1st quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 266 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 224 shares in the last quarter. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Hawkins during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. raised its stake in shares of Hawkins by 118.8% during the 1st quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 280 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 152 shares in the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Hawkins during the 1st quarter worth approximately $42,000. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Hawkins during the 1st quarter worth approximately $52,000. 69.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Hawkins Price Performance

Hawkins stock traded up $8.42 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $175.56. 182,300 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 151,611. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 2.31 and a quick ratio of 1.45. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $163.95 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $135.01. The company has a market capitalization of $3.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.24, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.86. Hawkins, Inc. has a 12-month low of $98.30 and a 12-month high of $185.50.

Hawkins (NASDAQ:HWKN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.07. Hawkins had a return on equity of 18.35% and a net margin of 8.37%.The company had revenue of $293.27 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $278.76 million. Analysts forecast that Hawkins, Inc. will post 4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hawkins Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th were issued a dividend of $0.19 per share. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. This is a positive change from Hawkins's previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 15th. Hawkins's payout ratio is 18.72%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Hawkins Profile

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.