Hawkins, Inc. $HWKN Shares Sold by NorthRock Partners LLC

Key Points

• NorthRock Partners LLC reduced its stake in Hawkins, Inc. by 10.6%, holding 41,544 shares valued at approximately $5.9 million after selling 4,932 shares during the 2nd quarter.
• Hawkins reported strong earnings, with $1.40 EPS for the quarter, above analysts' estimates of $1.33, and a revenue of $293.27 million, exceeding expectations of $278.76 million.
• The company announced a dividend increase to $0.19 per share, reflecting a 0.5% yield and a payout ratio of 18.72%.

NorthRock Partners LLC lessened its stake in Hawkins, Inc. (NASDAQ:HWKN - Free Report) by 10.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 41,544 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 4,932 shares during the period. NorthRock Partners LLC owned 0.20% of Hawkins worth $5,903,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HWKN. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. increased its position in Hawkins by 31.5% in the 1st quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 599,015 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $63,448,000 after acquiring an additional 143,425 shares during the period. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. boosted its holdings in Hawkins by 35.1% in the 2nd quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 473,752 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $67,320,000 after purchasing an additional 123,030 shares in the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. purchased a new stake in Hawkins in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $16,956,000. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Hawkins by 157,110.0% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 94,326 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $9,991,000 after purchasing an additional 94,266 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in Hawkins in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $5,271,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.71% of the company's stock.

Hawkins Price Performance

HWKN stock opened at $166.80 on Monday. Hawkins, Inc. has a 1 year low of $98.30 and a 1 year high of $186.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.45 and a current ratio of 2.31. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $173.33 and its 200 day moving average price is $147.23. The firm has a market cap of $3.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.08, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.84.

Hawkins (NASDAQ:HWKN - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.07. Hawkins had a return on equity of 18.35% and a net margin of 8.37%.The firm had revenue of $293.27 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $278.76 million. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Hawkins, Inc. will post 4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hawkins Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 29th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th 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 of this dividend was Friday, August 15th. This is an increase from Hawkins's previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. Hawkins's dividend payout ratio is currently 18.72%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. BWS Financial lifted their price objective on Hawkins from $160.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Raymond James Financial assumed coverage on Hawkins in a report on Thursday, July 24th. They issued a "market perform" rating on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Hawkins in a report on Saturday, September 27th. Zacks Research lowered Hawkins from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, September 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Hawkins from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, July 5th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate 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.

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