Hawkins, Inc. $HWKN Shares Purchased by Raymond James Financial Inc.

Key Points

• Raymond James Financial Inc. increased its stake in Hawkins, Inc. by 2.8%, owning 109,697 shares valued at approximately $11.6 million.
• Hawkins recently raised its quarterly dividend to $0.19 per share, reflecting a positive change from the previous $0.18 dividend and representing an annualized yield of 0.5%.
• Despite recent positive earnings results, Wall Street analysts have mixed ratings on Hawkins, with one raising their price target from $160 to $200 while another downgraded the stock to a "hold" rating.

Raymond James Financial Inc. increased its stake in Hawkins, Inc. (NASDAQ:HWKN - Free Report) by 2.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 109,697 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after buying an additional 3,010 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned 0.52% of Hawkins worth $11,619,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. grew its stake in Hawkins by 118.8% in the 1st quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 280 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 152 shares in the last quarter. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Hawkins in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new position in Hawkins in the first quarter worth approximately $42,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. bought a new position in Hawkins in the first quarter worth approximately $52,000. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Hawkins during the 4th quarter worth $53,000. Institutional investors own 69.71% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Hawkins Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of HWKN stock traded up $1.15 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $167.76. 22,758 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 151,557. The stock's fifty day moving average is $162.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $133.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 2.31 and a quick ratio of 1.45. Hawkins, Inc. has a 52-week low of $98.30 and a 52-week high of $185.50. The stock has a market cap of $3.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.34, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.86.

Hawkins (NASDAQ:HWKN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $293.27 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $278.76 million. Hawkins had a net margin of 8.37% and a return on equity of 18.35%. Equities analysts predict that Hawkins, Inc. will post 4 EPS for the current 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 given a $0.19 dividend. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 15th. This is a positive change from Hawkins's previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. Hawkins's payout ratio is 18.72%.

Hawkins Company 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.