Hawkins (NASDAQ:HWKN) Reaches New 52-Week High - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Hawkins, Inc. (NASDAQ:HWKN) reached a new 52-week high of $185.16, with a current trading price of $184.75, marking an increase from the previous close of $177.50.
• The company recently increased its quarterly dividend from $0.18 to $0.19 per share, which will be paid to shareholders on August 29th.
• Hawkins reported $1.40 EPS for the last quarter, exceeding analyst expectations, alongside revenue of $293.27 million compared to consensus estimates of $278.76 million.

Shares of Hawkins, Inc. (NASDAQ:HWKN - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $185.16 and last traded at $184.75, with a volume of 297046 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $177.50.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on HWKN. Raymond James Financial began coverage on shares of Hawkins in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. They issued a "market perform" rating for the company. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Hawkins to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. BWS Financial lifted their target price on shares of 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 cut shares of Hawkins from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $162.50.

Hawkins Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $3.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a quick ratio of 1.45, a current ratio of 2.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $154.46 and its 200 day moving average price is $128.78.

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

Hawkins Increases Dividend

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hawkins

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of HWKN. Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its holdings in Hawkins by 6.9% in the 2nd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 64,552 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $9,173,000 after buying an additional 4,157 shares during the period. Evergreen Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hawkins in the 2nd quarter valued at $208,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its position in Hawkins by 605.1% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,073 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $295,000 after buying an additional 1,779 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its position in Hawkins by 38.9% during the 2nd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 5,208 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $740,000 after buying an additional 1,459 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Engineers Gate Manager LP acquired a new position in Hawkins during the 2nd quarter worth about $441,000. Institutional investors own 69.71% of the company's stock.

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.