Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. Buys 211,472 Shares of Hawkins, Inc. (NASDAQ:HWKN)

Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. grew its position in shares of Hawkins, Inc. (NASDAQ:HWKN - Free Report) by 487.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 254,837 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after acquiring an additional 211,472 shares during the quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. owned about 1.22% of Hawkins worth $31,260,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of HWKN. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Hawkins by 5.4% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 755,995 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $96,367,000 after purchasing an additional 38,877 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Hawkins by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 523,514 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $66,743,000 after purchasing an additional 18,119 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of Hawkins by 20.9% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 256,245 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $32,663,000 after buying an additional 44,351 shares in the last quarter. Royce & Associates LP lifted its holdings in shares of Hawkins by 3.3% in the third quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 117,785 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $15,014,000 after buying an additional 3,775 shares during the period. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Hawkins by 26.9% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 112,966 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $14,400,000 after buying an additional 23,940 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.71% of the company's stock.

Hawkins Stock Down 1.9 %

Shares of Hawkins stock traded down $2.13 on Wednesday, hitting $110.06. 103,198 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 170,539. The company has a quick ratio of 1.53, a current ratio of 2.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. Hawkins, Inc. has a 12-month low of $63.23 and a 12-month high of $139.55. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $119.58 and a 200 day moving average price of $121.49. The company has a market cap of $2.30 billion, a PE ratio of 28.08, a PEG ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 0.82.

Hawkins (NASDAQ:HWKN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.72 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.77 by ($0.05). Hawkins had a return on equity of 18.95% and a net margin of 8.60%. Sell-side analysts predict that Hawkins, Inc. will post 4.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Hawkins Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.65%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Hawkins's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.37%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, BWS Financial reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $122.00 target price on shares of Hawkins in a report on Friday, January 31st.

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.