Hawkins (NASDAQ:HWKN) Upgraded to “Hold” at Zacks Research

Hawkins (NASDAQ:HWKN) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Wednesday, Zacks reports.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. BWS Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $200.00 price target on shares of Hawkins in a research note on Tuesday. Barclays set a $157.00 price objective on shares of Hawkins and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Hawkins from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Monday, September 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $178.50.

Hawkins Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of NASDAQ HWKN opened at $153.73 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $3.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.31, a PEG ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a current ratio of 2.28, a quick ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. Hawkins has a 12-month low of $116.04 and a 12-month high of $174.12. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $128.07 and its 200-day simple moving average is $143.15.

Hawkins (NASDAQ:HWKN) last released its earnings results on Monday, October 26th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.15. Hawkins had a return on equity of 15.97% and a net margin of 7.53%. The firm had revenue of $313.82 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $302.70 million. As a group, equities analysts predict that Hawkins will post 4.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hawkins news, CFO Jeffrey P. Oldenkamp bought 1,290 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 27th. The shares were bought at an average price of $119.00 per share, for a total transaction of $153,510.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 104,223 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,402,537. This trade represents a 1.25% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Douglas A. Lange purchased 910 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 25th. The stock was bought at an average price of $118.75 per share, with a total value of $108,062.50. Following the acquisition, the vice president directly owned 28,169 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,345,068.75. This represents a 3.34% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. purchased a new position in Hawkins in the 2nd quarter valued at about $37,000. USA Financial Formulas acquired a new position in shares of Hawkins in the third quarter valued at approximately $37,000. GK Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hawkins in the third quarter valued at approximately $63,000. Curry Webb Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hawkins in the third quarter valued at approximately $77,000. Finally, Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Hawkins by 842.0% in the 3rd quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 650 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $82,000 after acquiring an additional 581 shares during the period. 69.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Hawkins

Hawkins, Inc (NASDAQ:HWKN) is a chemical manufacturer, blender and distributor serving customers across the United States. The company supplies a range of water treatment chemicals, industrial chemicals and specialty products to municipal, commercial and industrial users.

Its water treatment business provides chemicals and related solutions used in drinking water, wastewater and industrial water treatment applications. Hawkins also serves the industrial, health and nutrition, and specialty chemical markets, offering products such as chemical blends, custom formulations and other materials used in manufacturing, agriculture, food processing and pharmaceutical applications.

Founded in 1938, Hawkins is headquartered in Roseville, Minnesota, and operates through a network of manufacturing, blending, distribution and sales locations in the United States.