Montanaro Asset Management Ltd Grows Stake in Hawkins, Inc. $HWKN

Montanaro Asset Management Ltd grew its stake in shares of Hawkins, Inc. (NASDAQ:HWKN) by 11.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 65,900 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,800 shares during the quarter. Hawkins comprises approximately 2.6% of Montanaro Asset Management Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest position. Montanaro Asset Management Ltd owned approximately 0.32% of Hawkins worth $9,362,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Hawkins by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,525,789 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $216,754,000 after purchasing an additional 20,958 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in Hawkins by 11.6% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,067,451 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $151,642,000 after acquiring an additional 111,318 shares in the last quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Hawkins by 31.4% in the fourth quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 552,419 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $78,477,000 after purchasing an additional 131,850 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Hawkins by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 513,535 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $72,965,000 after acquiring an additional 13,828 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital World Investors raised its stake in Hawkins by 34.4% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 477,985 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $67,903,000 after purchasing an additional 122,366 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.71% of the company’s stock.

Hawkins Stock Performance

HWKN stock opened at $162.10 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 2.21 and a quick ratio of 1.46. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $158.65 and a 200 day moving average price of $150.15. The company has a market capitalization of $3.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.46, a PEG ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.76. Hawkins, Inc. has a 1-year low of $117.98 and a 1-year high of $186.15.

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

Hawkins Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HWKN has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Hawkins from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Monday, June 8th. BWS Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $200.00 target price on shares of Hawkins in a research note on Monday, March 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Hawkins presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $200.00.

Hawkins Company Profile

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.