Hawkins (HWKN) Competitors

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) and Hawkins (NASDAQ:HWKN) are both basic materials companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, dividends, media sentiment, valuation, profitability, institutional ownership, risk and analyst recommendations.

Do analysts prefer WLK or HWKN?

Westlake presently has a consensus price target of $90.54, suggesting a potential upside of 10.75%. Hawkins has a consensus price target of $142.50, suggesting a potential downside of 5.38%. Given Westlake's higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Westlake is more favorable than Hawkins.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Westlake	0 Sell rating(s)	6 Hold rating(s)	7 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.54
Hawkins	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.00

Do insiders and institutionals believe in WLK or HWKN?

28.4% of Westlake shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 69.7% of Hawkins shares are held by institutional investors. 1.3% of Westlake shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 4.1% of Hawkins shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Does the media refer more to WLK or HWKN?

In the previous week, Hawkins had 11 more articles in the media than Westlake. MarketBeat recorded 14 mentions for Hawkins and 3 mentions for Westlake. Westlake's average media sentiment score of 0.96 beat Hawkins' score of 0.38 indicating that Westlake is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Westlake	2 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Hawkins	3 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	11 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral

Is WLK or HWKN a better dividend stock?

Westlake pays an annual dividend of $2.10 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.6%. Hawkins pays an annual dividend of $0.72 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.5%. Westlake pays out 70.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Hawkins pays out 17.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Westlake has increased its dividend for 21 consecutive years and Hawkins has increased its dividend for 20 consecutive years. Westlake is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Is WLK or HWKN more profitable?

Hawkins has a net margin of 8.66% compared to Westlake's net margin of 3.23%. Hawkins' return on equity of 18.93% beat Westlake's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Westlake	3.23%	4.19%	2.21%
Hawkins	8.66%	18.93%	11.76%

Which has more risk & volatility, WLK or HWKN?

Westlake has a beta of 0.91, meaning that its stock price is 9% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Hawkins has a beta of 0.85, meaning that its stock price is 15% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Which has higher valuation and earnings, WLK or HWKN?

Westlake has higher revenue and earnings than Hawkins. Westlake is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Hawkins, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Westlake	$12.14B	0.86	$602M	$2.98	27.43
Hawkins	$974.43M	3.22	$84.35M	$4.04	37.28

Summary

Hawkins beats Westlake on 11 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.