Westwood Holdings Group Inc. Has $63.45 Million Stock Position in Hawkins, Inc. (NASDAQ:HWKN)

Key Points

• Westwood Holdings Group Inc. increased its holdings in Hawkins, Inc. by 31.5%, acquiring an additional 143,425 shares, bringing their total to 599,015 shares, worth approximately $63.4 million.
• Hawkins, Inc. reported quarterly earnings with an EPS of $1.40, exceeding analysts' expectations, and announced a dividend increase to $0.19, effective August 15th.
• Analysts provided mixed ratings for Hawkins, with Wall Street Zen downgrading it to a "hold", while BWS Financial raised the price target and maintained a "buy" rating.

Westwood Holdings Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Hawkins, Inc. (NASDAQ:HWKN - Free Report) by 31.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 599,015 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after buying an additional 143,425 shares during the quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. owned 2.86% of Hawkins worth $63,448,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Hawkins by 18.1% during the first quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 58,056 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $6,149,000 after buying an additional 8,877 shares in the last quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Hawkins by 4.0% in the first quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC now owns 46,476 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $4,923,000 after purchasing an additional 1,771 shares in the last quarter. De Lisle Partners LLP lifted its position in shares of Hawkins by 2.1% in the first quarter. De Lisle Partners LLP now owns 97,419 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $10,336,000 after purchasing an additional 2,000 shares in the last quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Hawkins by 3.9% in the first quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 4,881 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $517,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Royce & Associates LP lifted its position in shares of Hawkins by 8.3% in the first quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 114,812 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $12,161,000 after purchasing an additional 8,785 shares in the last quarter. 69.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Hawkins Stock Up 2.0%

NASDAQ:HWKN traded up $3.52 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $177.25. The stock had a trading volume of 213,225 shares, compared to its average volume of 212,735. The business's 50 day moving average is $150.16 and its 200 day moving average is $126.59. Hawkins, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $98.30 and a fifty-two week high of $179.07. The stock has a market cap of $3.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.66, a PEG ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.81. 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 (NASDAQ:HWKN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 the consensus estimate of $278.76 million. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Hawkins, Inc. will post 4 earnings per share for the current year.

Hawkins Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid a $0.19 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. This is a positive change from Hawkins's previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Hawkins's dividend payout ratio is presently 17.73%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HWKN has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. BWS Financial increased their price target on shares of Hawkins from $160.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Hawkins from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 5th. Finally, Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on shares of Hawkins in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. They issued a "market perform" rating for the company.

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.