Hawkins (NASDAQ:HWKN) Share Price Passes Above 200 Day Moving Average - Here's Why

Key Points

• Price breakout: Hawkins (NASDAQ:HWKN) crossed above its 200-day moving average of $147.36, trading as high as $147.97 and last at $147.07 on Wednesday, signaling a short-term technical positive.
• Analyst view: The consensus rating is a Hold with a $200 consensus price target (one Buy, three Holds), following recent reports including Zacks upgrading to Hold and BWS reiterating a Buy with a $200 target.
• Fundamentals and insider activity: Hawkins missed quarterly estimates (EPS $0.72 vs $0.75; revenue $244.1M vs $252.5M), has a market cap of ~$3.07B and a 0.5% dividend yield, and a director purchased 1,500 shares in February while insiders own about 4.1%.

Hawkins, Inc. (NASDAQ:HWKN - Get Free Report) crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Wednesday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $147.36 and traded as high as $147.97. Hawkins shares last traded at $147.07, with a volume of 239,489 shares changing hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HWKN has been the topic of several recent research reports. Zacks Research upgraded Hawkins from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, January 2nd. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Hawkins in a report on Friday, April 10th. Finally, BWS Financial restated a "buy" rating and set a $200.00 price target on shares of Hawkins in a report on Monday, March 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $200.00.

Hawkins Stock Down 0.7%

The company has a fifty day moving average of $146.35 and a two-hundred day moving average of $147.36. The company has a market cap of $3.07 billion, a PE ratio of 37.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a current ratio of 2.35.

Hawkins (NASDAQ:HWKN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.72 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.75 by ($0.03). Hawkins had a net margin of 7.75% and a return on equity of 16.85%. The company had revenue of $244.08 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $252.51 million. As a group, analysts anticipate that Hawkins, Inc. will post 4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hawkins Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 13th were paid a $0.19 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 13th. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. Hawkins's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.24%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hawkins news, Director James A. Faulconbridge bought 1,500 shares of Hawkins stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 4th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $129.29 per share, for a total transaction of $193,935.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 50,907 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,581,766.03. This trade represents a 3.04% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 4.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Hawkins

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of HWKN. Salomon & Ludwin LLC purchased a new stake in Hawkins in the third quarter worth $27,000. Kestra Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in Hawkins in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. First Horizon Corp purchased a new stake in Hawkins in the third quarter worth $34,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in Hawkins in the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Simplex Trading LLC increased its stake in Hawkins by 246.0% in the fourth quarter. Simplex Trading LLC now owns 346 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 246 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.71% of the company's stock.

About Hawkins

Hawkins, Inc NASDAQ: HWKN is a specialty chemical company that produces and distributes water-treatment and industrial chemicals across North America. Founded in 1938 and headquartered in Roseville, Minnesota, the company has built a network of manufacturing facilities and distribution centers that serve municipal, industrial and commercial customers. As a publicly traded entity, Hawkins leverages its long-standing presence in the chemical distribution industry to provide tailored solutions for complex water-treatment challenges and specialty chemical needs.

Hawkins' product portfolio encompasses a wide range of chemicals, including sodium hypochlorite, sodium hydroxide, hydrogen peroxide, chlorine, acids and specialty blends.

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