Hawkins (HWKN) Competitors

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

Which has preferable valuation and earnings, HWKN or WLK?

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
Hawkins	$974.43M	3.33	$84.35M	$4.04	38.45
Westlake	$12.14B	0.90	$602M	$2.98	28.73

Is HWKN or WLK a better dividend stock?

Hawkins pays an annual dividend of $0.72 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.5%. Westlake pays an annual dividend of $2.10 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.5%. Hawkins pays out 17.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Westlake pays out 70.5% 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. Hawkins has increased its dividend for 20 consecutive years and Westlake has increased its dividend for 21 consecutive years. Westlake is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Does the media favor HWKN or WLK?

In the previous week, Westlake had 4 more articles in the media than Hawkins. MarketBeat recorded 9 mentions for Westlake and 5 mentions for Hawkins. Hawkins' average media sentiment score of 0.27 beat Westlake's score of 0.25 indicating that Hawkins is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Hawkins	1 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral
Westlake	1 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	4 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral

Do institutionals & insiders have more ownership in HWKN or WLK?

69.7% of Hawkins shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 28.4% of Westlake shares are held by institutional investors. 4.1% of Hawkins shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.3% of Westlake shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Is HWKN or WLK 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
Hawkins	8.66%	18.93%	11.76%
Westlake	3.23%	4.19%	2.21%

Do analysts rate HWKN or WLK?

Hawkins currently has a consensus target price of $142.50, indicating a potential downside of 8.26%. Westlake has a consensus target price of $91.46, indicating a potential upside of 6.81%. Given Westlake's higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Westlake is more favorable than Hawkins.

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

Which has more volatility and risk, HWKN or WLK?

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

Summary

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