Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC Purchases Shares of 4,585 Hawkins, Inc. (NASDAQ:HWKN)

Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Hawkins, Inc. (NASDAQ:HWKN - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 4,585 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock, valued at approximately $562,000.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Barclays PLC increased its position in shares of Hawkins by 180.1% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 39,728 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $5,064,000 after acquiring an additional 25,545 shares in the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Hawkins by 487.7% in the 4th 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. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hawkins in the fourth quarter worth $2,984,000. Cynosure Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Hawkins during the fourth quarter valued at $299,000. Finally, Tealwood Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Hawkins during the fourth quarter valued at $830,000. Institutional investors own 69.71% of the company's stock.

Hawkins Stock Performance

Shares of HWKN stock traded down $0.99 on Friday, reaching $124.50. The stock had a trading volume of 111,616 shares, compared to its average volume of 122,898. The stock has a market cap of $2.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.80 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 company has a 50 day simple moving average of $109.65 and a 200 day simple moving average of $117.60. Hawkins, Inc. has a 1 year low of $71.98 and a 1 year high of $139.55.

Hawkins (NASDAQ:HWKN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.72 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.77 by ($0.05). Hawkins had a return on equity of 18.95% and a net margin of 8.60%. Equities research analysts expect that Hawkins, Inc. will post 4 EPS for the current year.

Hawkins Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.58%. Hawkins's dividend payout ratio is currently 18.37%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Hawkins 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.