Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $12.20 Million Stock Position in Hawkins, Inc. (NASDAQ:HWKN)

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Hawkins, Inc. (NASDAQ:HWKN) by 3.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 99,420 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after buying an additional 3,436 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.48% of Hawkins worth $12,196,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Jane Street Group LLC boosted its position in Hawkins by 127.3% during the 3rd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 47,432 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $6,046,000 after acquiring an additional 26,568 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D acquired a new stake in shares of Hawkins during the third quarter worth approximately $2,021,000. Natixis Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hawkins during the third quarter worth approximately $2,495,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Hawkins by 26.9% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 112,966 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $14,400,000 after purchasing an additional 23,940 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rice Hall James & Associates LLC acquired a new position in Hawkins in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $4,016,000. 69.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, BWS Financial reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $122.00 target price on shares of Hawkins in a research note on Friday, January 31st.

Hawkins Price Performance

HWKN opened at $103.89 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $114.81 and a 200 day moving average price of $120.99. The company has a current ratio of 2.50, a quick ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. Hawkins, Inc. has a 1 year low of $67.95 and a 1 year high of $139.55. The stock has a market cap of $2.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.50, a PEG ratio of 3.80 and a beta of 0.82.

Hawkins (NASDAQ:HWKN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. 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 8.60% and a return on equity of 18.95%. Analysts forecast that Hawkins, Inc. will post 4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hawkins Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Hawkins’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.37%.

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.