Hawkins (NASDAQ:HWKN) Shares Down 5.6% Following Weak Earnings

Shares of Hawkins, Inc. (NASDAQ:HWKN) dropped 5.6% during mid-day trading on Thursday following a weaker than expected earnings announcement. The stock traded as low as $111.13 and last traded at $109.59. Approximately 31,160 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 78% from the average daily volume of 139,289 shares. The stock had previously closed at $116.11.

The specialty chemicals company reported $0.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.77 by ($0.05). Hawkins had a net margin of 8.74% and a return on equity of 19.64%.

Hawkins Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.68%. Hawkins’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.37%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, BWS Financial reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $122.00 target price on shares of Hawkins in a research note on Thursday, October 31st.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hawkins

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. State Street Corp lifted its position in Hawkins by 5.4% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 755,995 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $96,367,000 after acquiring an additional 38,877 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Hawkins by 3.6% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 523,514 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $66,743,000 after acquiring an additional 18,119 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its position in Hawkins by 20.9% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 256,245 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $32,663,000 after acquiring an additional 44,351 shares during the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. lifted its position in 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 acquiring an additional 211,472 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royce & Associates LP lifted its position in Hawkins by 3.3% during the third quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 117,785 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $15,014,000 after acquiring an additional 3,775 shares during the last quarter. 69.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Hawkins Price Performance

The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $123.66 and its 200-day simple moving average is $120.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 2.27 and a quick ratio of 1.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.19, a P/E/G ratio of 4.09 and a beta of 0.84.

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.