William Blair Investment Management LLC Acquires Shares of 134,439 Hawkins, Inc. $HWKN

William Blair Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hawkins, Inc. (NASDAQ:HWKN) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund acquired 134,439 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,098,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in HWKN. Capital World Investors increased its position in Hawkins by 618.8% during the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 355,619 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $64,979,000 after purchasing an additional 306,143 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in Hawkins by 44.4% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 407,793 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $74,512,000 after purchasing an additional 125,444 shares during the period. Granite Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in Hawkins during the 3rd quarter valued at $11,610,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Hawkins by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,504,831 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $274,963,000 after purchasing an additional 41,652 shares during the period. Finally, Wasatch Advisors LP increased its position in Hawkins by 10.9% during the 3rd quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 420,569 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $76,846,000 after purchasing an additional 41,184 shares during the period. 69.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on HWKN shares. BWS Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $200.00 price objective on shares of Hawkins in a research report on Monday, March 23rd. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Hawkins from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Hawkins presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $200.00.

Hawkins Price Performance

NASDAQ:HWKN opened at $153.14 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $154.56 and its 200-day moving average price is $146.34. The company has a market capitalization of $3.20 billion, a PE ratio of 39.17, a P/E/G ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 2.21 and a quick ratio of 1.46. Hawkins, Inc. has a 1-year low of $117.98 and a 1-year high of $186.15.

Hawkins (NASDAQ:HWKN) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 13th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.74 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $265.91 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $255.28 million. Hawkins had a return on equity of 16.08% and a net margin of 7.53%. On average, equities analysts predict that Hawkins, Inc. will post 4.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hawkins Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 29th will be given a $0.19 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 29th. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Hawkins’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.44%.

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.