Hawkins, Inc. $HWKN Shares Acquired by Bowen Hanes & Co. Inc.

Key Points

• Bowen Hanes & Co. Inc. increased its stake in Hawkins by 4.3% in the first quarter, adding 15,550 shares to bring its total to 380,520 shares valued at about $58.4 million.
• Other large institutional investors, including Vanguard, State Street, Wasatch Advisors, Geode Capital, and Capital World Investors, also raised their holdings, and institutions now own 69.71% of Hawkins.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious: Weiss Ratings downgraded Hawkins to Hold, while the consensus rating is also Hold with an average price target of $185. Hawkins recently reported quarterly EPS of $0.74, missing estimates, though revenue topped expectations.

Bowen Hanes & Co. Inc. raised its position in Hawkins, Inc. (NASDAQ:HWKN - Free Report) by 4.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 380,520 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after purchasing an additional 15,550 shares during the period. Bowen Hanes & Co. Inc. owned 1.82% of Hawkins worth $58,448,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in HWKN. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Hawkins by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,525,789 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $216,754,000 after buying an additional 20,958 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Hawkins by 11.6% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,067,451 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $151,642,000 after acquiring an additional 111,318 shares during the period. Wasatch Advisors LP boosted its stake in Hawkins by 31.4% during the 4th quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 552,419 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $78,477,000 after purchasing an additional 131,850 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Hawkins by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 513,535 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $72,965,000 after buying an additional 13,828 shares during the period. Finally, Capital World Investors lifted its position in Hawkins by 34.4% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 477,985 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $67,903,000 after acquiring an additional 122,366 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.71% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on HWKN. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Hawkins from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Barclays set a $170.00 target price on shares of Hawkins and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $185.00.

Hawkins Stock Performance

Hawkins stock opened at $139.33 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $150.73 and a two-hundred day moving average of $150.58. Hawkins, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $117.98 and a fifty-two week high of $186.15. The company has a market capitalization of $2.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.63, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a current ratio of 2.21.

Hawkins (NASDAQ:HWKN - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 13th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.76 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $265.91 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $255.28 million. Hawkins had a net margin of 7.53% and a return on equity of 16.08%. On average, analysts anticipate that Hawkins, Inc. will post 4.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hawkins Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 12th. Investors of record on Friday, May 29th were given a dividend of $0.19 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 29th. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. Hawkins's dividend payout ratio is 19.44%.

About Hawkins

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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