Givaudan (OTCMKTS:GVDNY) and Hawkins (NASDAQ:HWKN) Financial Analysis

Hawkins (NASDAQ:HWKN) and Givaudan (OTCMKTS:GVDNY) are both basic materials companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, profitability, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, earnings, valuation and risk.

Dividends

Hawkins pays an annual dividend of $0.76 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.5%. Givaudan pays an annual dividend of $0.96 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.1%. Hawkins pays out 18.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Hawkins has increased its dividend for 20 consecutive years.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Hawkins and Givaudan”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Hawkins	$1.01 billion	3.45	$84.35 million	$4.06	41.21
Givaudan	$8.42 billion	4.63	$1.24 billion	N/A	N/A

Givaudan has higher revenue and earnings than Hawkins.

Volatility & Risk

Hawkins has a beta of 0.86, meaning that its share price is 14% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Givaudan has a beta of 0.73, meaning that its share price is 27% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and price targets for Hawkins and Givaudan, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Hawkins	0	1	2	1	3.00
Givaudan	0	2	0	1	2.67

Hawkins presently has a consensus target price of $162.50, indicating a potential downside of 2.89%. Given Hawkins’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities analysts plainly believe Hawkins is more favorable than Givaudan.

Profitability

This table compares Hawkins and Givaudan’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Hawkins	8.37%	18.35%	10.73%
Givaudan	N/A	N/A	N/A

Insider & Institutional Ownership

69.7% of Hawkins shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 0.0% of Givaudan shares are held by institutional investors. 4.1% of Hawkins shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Hawkins beats Givaudan on 10 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

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. This segment manufactures sodium hypochlorite and agricultural products, as well as various food-grade and pharmaceutical products, such as liquid phosphates, lactates, other blended products, and agricultural products; and receives, stores, and distributes various chemicals comprising liquid caustic soda, sulfuric acid, hydrochloric acid, urea, phosphoric acid, aqua ammonia, and potassium hydroxide. It also repackages water treatment chemicals and bulk industrial chemicals; and performs custom blending of chemicals. The Water Treatment segment provides chemicals, products, equipment, services, and solutions for potable water, municipal and industrial wastewater, industrial process water, non-residential swimming pool water, and agriculture water. The Health and Nutrition segment offers ingredient distribution, processing, and formulation solutions to manufacturers of nutraceutical, functional food and beverage, personal care, dietary supplement and other nutritional food, and health and wellness products. Its products portfolio includes minerals, vitamins and amino acids, excipients, joint products, botanicals and herbs, sweeteners, and enzymes. Hawkins, Inc. was founded in 1938 and is headquartered in Roseville, Minnesota.

About Givaudan

Givaudan SA manufactures, supplies, and sells fragrance, beauty, taste, and wellbeing products to the consumer goods industry. The company operates through divisions, Fragrance & Beauty, and Taste & Wellbeing. The Fragrance & Beauty division offers fine fragrances; consumer products, such as personal, home, fabric, and oral care; fragrance ingredients; and active beauty products. The Taste & Wellbeing division provides beverages, such as fizzy drinks, bottled waters, ready-to-drink juices, alcoholic beverages, and others; dairy and cheese products, including dairy drinks, yoghurt, ice cream, chilled desserts, cream cheese, and spreads; snacks; givaudan flavour ingredients; savory, and supplements and nutraceutical products; and biscuits, crackers, and cereals, as well as confectionery products, such as chewing gums, chocolates, and sweets. It operates in Switzerland, Europe, Africa, the Middle East, North America, Latin America, and the Asia Pacific. Givaudan SA was founded in 1796 and is headquartered in Vernier, Switzerland.