Public Sector Pension Investment Board Acquires 16,850 Shares of Hawkins, Inc. $HWKN

Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its holdings in Hawkins, Inc. (NASDAQ:HWKN) by 26.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 81,402 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after buying an additional 16,850 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board owned 0.39% of Hawkins worth $14,874,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in HWKN. New York State Common Retirement Fund raised its position in Hawkins by 137.5% during the third quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 16,302 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $2,979,000 after purchasing an additional 9,439 shares in the last quarter. Callan Family Office LLC bought a new position in shares of Hawkins in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,568,000. Montanaro Asset Management Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Hawkins by 294.0% during the 2nd quarter. Montanaro Asset Management Ltd now owns 59,100 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $8,398,000 after buying an additional 44,100 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Hawkins by 12.7% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 113,371 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $20,715,000 after buying an additional 12,767 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Neuberger Berman Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hawkins during the 2nd quarter worth $4,594,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.71% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hawkins

In related news, Director James A. Faulconbridge bought 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 4th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $129.29 per share, with a total value of $193,935.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 50,907 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,581,766.03. This trade represents a 3.04% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 4.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hawkins Stock Performance

NASDAQ:HWKN opened at $146.61 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $145.45 and its 200-day moving average is $154.64. Hawkins, Inc. has a 1-year low of $98.30 and a 1-year high of $186.15. The company has a current ratio of 2.35, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The stock has a market cap of $3.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.86.

Hawkins (NASDAQ:HWKN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.75 by ($0.03). Hawkins had a net margin of 7.75% and a return on equity of 16.85%. The business had revenue of $244.08 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $252.51 million. Equities research analysts anticipate that Hawkins, Inc. will post 4 earnings per share for the current year.

Hawkins Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.19 per share. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 13th. Hawkins’s payout ratio is 19.24%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HWKN has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. BWS Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $200.00 target price on shares of Hawkins in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Zacks Research raised shares of Hawkins from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of Hawkins from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $162.50.

Hawkins Company Profile

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.