Hawkins (NASDAQ:HWKN) Trading Up 8.2% - Time to Buy?

Hawkins, Inc. (NASDAQ:HWKN - Get Free Report) shares were up 8.2% during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $124.39 and last traded at $124.24. Approximately 86,751 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 30% from the average daily volume of 123,802 shares. The stock had previously closed at $114.78.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. BWS Financial raised Hawkins from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $160.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. CJS Securities assumed coverage on Hawkins in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. They issued a "market outperform" rating and a $125.00 target price for the company.

Hawkins Trading Up 0.3 %

The stock has a market cap of $2.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.03, a PEG ratio of 3.80 and a beta of 0.82. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $108.45 and its 200 day simple moving average is $117.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 2.50 and a quick ratio of 1.53.

Hawkins (NASDAQ:HWKN - Get Free Report) last announced 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%. On average, analysts expect that Hawkins, Inc. will post 4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hawkins Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were given a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. Hawkins's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.37%.

Institutional Trading of Hawkins

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HWKN. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Hawkins in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in Hawkins by 155.4% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 355 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hawkins during the fourth quarter worth $53,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Hawkins by 262.3% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 442 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $55,000 after buying an additional 320 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Hawkins by 20.4% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 531 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $56,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. 69.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.