Principal Financial Group Inc. Acquires 2,365 Shares of Hawkins, Inc. (NASDAQ:HWKN)

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Hawkins, Inc. (NASDAQ:HWKN - Free Report) by 2.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 101,785 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after acquiring an additional 2,365 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.49% of Hawkins worth $10,781,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. lifted its stake in 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 worth $37,148,000 after acquiring an additional 95,885 shares during the period. Wasatch Advisors LP bought a new position in Hawkins in the fourth quarter worth $42,466,000. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in Hawkins by 16.1% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 235,096 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $28,839,000 after purchasing an additional 32,670 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in Hawkins by 61.9% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 149,616 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $18,353,000 after purchasing an additional 57,179 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Hawkins in the fourth quarter worth $13,087,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.71% of the company's stock.

Hawkins Stock Up 2.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:HWKN traded up $3.73 on Thursday, hitting $163.59. 196,910 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 133,719. Hawkins, Inc. has a 52 week low of $98.30 and a 52 week high of $165.76. The company has a quick ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 2.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $138.10 and a 200-day simple moving average of $121.36. The company has a market cap of $3.41 billion, a PE ratio of 40.49, a PEG ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.85.

Hawkins (NASDAQ:HWKN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 14th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.04. Hawkins had a return on equity of 18.93% and a net margin of 8.66%. The firm had revenue of $245.32 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $230.69 million. As a group, research analysts expect that Hawkins, Inc. will post 4 earnings per share for the current year.

Hawkins Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 30th were issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 30th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.44%. Hawkins's payout ratio is presently 17.82%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. CJS Securities assumed coverage on Hawkins in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. They issued a "market outperform" rating and a $125.00 price objective for the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded Hawkins from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, July 5th. Finally, BWS Financial reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $160.00 price objective on shares of Hawkins in a report on Thursday, May 15th.

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.