Hawkins (NASDAQ:HWKN) Trading 4.7% Higher - Still a Buy?

Hawkins, Inc. (NASDAQ:HWKN - Get Free Report) shares shot up 4.7% on Monday . The company traded as high as $111.72 and last traded at $111.94. 43,015 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 75% from the average session volume of 169,527 shares. The stock had previously closed at $106.91.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, BWS Financial reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $122.00 price objective on shares of Hawkins in a research note on Friday, January 31st.

Hawkins Trading Up 1.6 %

The company has a market capitalization of $2.41 billion, a PE ratio of 29.33, a P/E/G ratio of 3.71 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 1.53 and a current ratio of 2.50. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $121.54 and a 200 day moving average price of $121.22.

Hawkins (NASDAQ:HWKN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.72 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.77 by ($0.05). Hawkins had a net margin of 8.60% and a return on equity of 18.95%. Analysts expect that Hawkins, Inc. will post 4.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hawkins Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.63%. Hawkins's payout ratio is 18.37%.

Institutional Trading of Hawkins

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 38,877 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Hawkins by 3.6% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 523,514 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $66,743,000 after acquiring an additional 18,119 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of Hawkins by 20.9% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 256,245 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $32,663,000 after purchasing an additional 44,351 shares during the period. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. lifted its position in shares of Hawkins by 487.7% during the fourth quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 254,837 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $31,260,000 after purchasing an additional 211,472 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Royce & Associates LP boosted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 3,775 shares during the period. 69.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Hawkins Company Profile

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.