Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Decreases Stock Holdings in Hawkins, Inc. $HWKN

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lowered its holdings in shares of Hawkins, Inc. (NASDAQ:HWKN) by 2.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 513,779 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 12,168 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP’s holdings in Hawkins were worth $78,915,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in HWKN. SEB Asset Management AB purchased a new stake in shares of Hawkins during the 1st quarter valued at about $758,000. Swiss National Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Hawkins by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 39,288 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $6,035,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund grew its position in Hawkins by 2.5% in the first quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 10,782 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,656,000 after acquiring an additional 267 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC increased its stake in Hawkins by 6.1% during the first quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 2,371 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $364,000 after acquiring an additional 137 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Hawkins by 2.9% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 123,051 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $18,901,000 after acquiring an additional 3,465 shares during the last quarter. 69.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Hawkins Trading Down 6.8%

Shares of HWKN opened at $129.22 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $149.03 and its 200-day simple moving average is $150.09. The company has a market cap of $2.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.48, a P/E/G ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a current ratio of 2.21, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. Hawkins, Inc. has a twelve month low of $117.98 and a twelve month high of $186.15.

Hawkins (NASDAQ:HWKN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.35 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.39 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $315.68 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $313.42 million. Hawkins had a return on equity of 15.63% and a net margin of 7.29%. As a group, analysts expect that Hawkins, Inc. will post 4.27 EPS for the current year.

Hawkins Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be given a dividend of $0.19 per share. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 14th. Hawkins’s payout ratio is 19.44%.

Key Headlines Impacting Hawkins

Here are the key news stories impacting Hawkins this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Revenue rose 8% year over year to a record $315.7 million, exceeding analysts’ $313.4 million estimate. Water Treatment sales increased 6%, Food and Health Sciences grew 9%, and Industrial Solutions advanced 10%. Operating cash flow and free cash flow also improved. Hawkins fiscal 2027 first-quarter results
• Positive Sentiment: Hawkins announced a 5% increase in its quarterly dividend to $0.20 per share, payable August 28 to shareholders of record August 14. The increase signals continued confidence in cash generation, although the resulting annualized yield remains modest at roughly 0.5%. Hawkins dividend increase
• Positive Sentiment: The company repurchased $7 million of stock during the quarter and acquired Aqua-Chem, a water-treatment products distributor serving primarily Nebraska and Iowa. Recent disclosed insider activity also showed purchases rather than sales.
• Neutral Sentiment: Hawkins’ balance sheet remains relatively solid, with a current ratio of 2.21 and debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. However, the stock’s valuation remains elevated at approximately 33 times earnings, leaving less room for disappointment.
• Negative Sentiment: Adjusted earnings were $1.35 per diluted share, below estimates ranging from $1.39 to $1.41 and down from $1.40 a year earlier. Net income fell 3% to $28.3 million, while gross profit increased only 2%, suggesting margin pressure despite the sales growth. Hawkins earnings miss

Analyst Ratings Changes

HWKN has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Weiss Ratings downgraded Hawkins from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Barclays set a $170.00 target price on Hawkins and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $185.00.

About Hawkins

Hawkins, Inc (NASDAQ: HWKN) is a specialty chemical company that produces and distributes water-treatment and industrial chemicals across North America. Founded in 1938 and headquartered in Roseville, Minnesota, the company has built a network of manufacturing facilities and distribution centers that serve municipal, industrial and commercial customers. As a publicly traded entity, Hawkins leverages its long-standing presence in the chemical distribution industry to provide tailored solutions for complex water-treatment challenges and specialty chemical needs.

Hawkins’ product portfolio encompasses a wide range of chemicals, including sodium hypochlorite, sodium hydroxide, hydrogen peroxide, chlorine, acids and specialty blends.