Hawkins, Inc. (NASDAQ:HWKN) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

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 significant growth in short interest in August. As of August 15th, there was short interest totaling 1,330,000 shares, a growth of 30.4% from the July 31st total of 1,020,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 188,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 7.1 days. Approximately 7.0% of the company's shares are short sold. Approximately 7.0% of the company's shares are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 188,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 7.1 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Raymond James Financial assumed coverage on Hawkins in a report on Thursday, July 24th. They issued a "market perform" rating for the company. Zacks Research upgraded Hawkins to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Hawkins from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, July 5th. Finally, BWS Financial raised 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $162.50.

Hawkins Stock Performance

Shares of HWKN traded down $3.68 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $173.30. The company's stock had a trading volume of 97,328 shares, compared to its average volume of 122,023. The stock has a market cap of $3.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.68, a PEG ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.86. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $166.48 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $137.15. The company has a current ratio of 2.31, a quick ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. Hawkins has a 1-year low of $98.30 and a 1-year high of $185.50.

Hawkins (NASDAQ:HWKN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $293.27 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $278.76 million. Hawkins had a return on equity of 18.35% and a net margin of 8.37%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Hawkins will post 4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hawkins Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th were issued a $0.19 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 15th. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. This is a boost from Hawkins's previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. Hawkins's payout ratio is presently 18.72%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hawkins

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. raised its holdings 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 in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Hawkins by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 478,348 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $67,981,000 after acquiring an additional 5,110 shares in the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. raised 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 acquiring an additional 123,030 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in Hawkins by 50.3% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 282,349 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $40,122,000 after acquiring an additional 94,503 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in shares of Hawkins by 16.1% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 235,096 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $28,839,000 after purchasing an additional 32,670 shares during the last quarter. 69.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.