Hawkins, Inc. (NASDAQ:HWKN) Short Interest Update

Key Points

• Hawkins, Inc. experienced a 30.4% increase in short interest in August, with 1.33 million shares shorted as of August 15th.
• The company recently announced a dividend increase from $0.18 to $0.19 per share, reflecting an annual yield of 0.4%.
• Brokerages have a consensus rating of Buy for Hawkins, with an average target price of $162.50 and some analysts projecting strong growth.

Hawkins, Inc. (NASDAQ:HWKN - Get Free Report) saw a large increase in short interest in the month of August. As of August 15th, there was short interest totaling 1,330,000 shares, an increase of 30.4% from the July 31st total of 1,020,000 shares. Approximately 7.0% of the company's stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 188,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 7.1 days. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 188,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 7.1 days. Approximately 7.0% of the company's stock are sold short.

Hawkins Stock Performance

Shares of Hawkins stock traded down $3.68 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $173.30. 97,328 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 122,023. Hawkins has a 12 month low of $98.30 and a 12 month high of $185.50. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $166.48 and a 200 day simple moving average of $136.94. 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 company has a market capitalization of $3.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.68, a P/E/G ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.86.

Hawkins (NASDAQ:HWKN - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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. Hawkins had a net margin of 8.37% and a return on equity of 18.35%. The firm had revenue of $293.27 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $278.76 million. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Hawkins will post 4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hawkins Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th were given a dividend of $0.19 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 15th. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. This is an increase from Hawkins's previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. Hawkins's payout ratio is 18.72%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hawkins

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Brooklyn Investment Group raised its holdings in shares of Hawkins by 533.3% in the 1st quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 266 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 224 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. raised its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 152 shares during the period. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. bought a new stake in shares of Hawkins in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Hawkins in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Hawkins in the 1st quarter worth approximately $42,000. Institutional investors own 69.71% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on HWKN. Zacks Research upgraded Hawkins to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. Raymond James Financial began coverage on Hawkins in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. They set a "market perform" rating for the company. BWS Financial lifted their price target on Hawkins from $160.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Hawkins from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $162.50.

About Hawkins

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.