Hawkins (NASDAQ:HWKN) Given “Buy” Rating at BWS Financial

BWS Financial reiterated their buy rating on shares of Hawkins (NASDAQ:HWKN) in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $160.00 price target on the specialty chemicals company’s stock.

Separately, CJS Securities started coverage on shares of Hawkins in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. They set a “market outperform” rating and a $125.00 price objective for the company.

Hawkins Stock Up 3.2%

HWKN stock opened at $122.68 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $2.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.30, a PEG ratio of 3.80 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a current ratio of 2.50, a quick ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. Hawkins has a 12 month low of $83.88 and a 12 month high of $139.55. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $114.35 and a two-hundred day moving average of $117.07.

Hawkins (NASDAQ:HWKN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 14th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.78 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $245.32 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $230.69 million. Hawkins had a net margin of 8.60% and a return on equity of 18.95%. As a group, analysts forecast that Hawkins will post 4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hawkins Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Investors of record on Friday, May 30th will be given a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.59%. Hawkins’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.37%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hawkins

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Brooklyn Investment Group increased its stake in Hawkins by 533.3% in the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 266 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 224 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. increased its stake in shares of Hawkins by 118.8% during the first quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 280 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 152 shares during the period. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Hawkins during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Hawkins during the first quarter worth about $42,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in shares of Hawkins by 155.4% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 355 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 216 shares during the period. 69.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.