Short Interest in Hawkins, Inc. (NASDAQ:HWKN) Declines By 5.9%

Hawkins, Inc. (NASDAQ:HWKN) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest during the month of July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totalling 552,700 shares, a decline of 5.9% from the July 15th total of 587,600 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 129,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.3 days. Currently, 2.9% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, BWS Financial boosted their price target on shares of Hawkins from $74.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director James A. Faulconbridge acquired 1,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 6th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $87.56 per share, with a total value of $157,608.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 40,517 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,547,668.52. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, Director James A. Faulconbridge purchased 1,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 6th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $87.56 per share, with a total value of $157,608.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 40,517 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,547,668.52. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director James A. Faulconbridge purchased 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 10th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $86.47 per share, for a total transaction of $172,940.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 44,017 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,806,149.99. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have bought 5,100 shares of company stock valued at $442,998 in the last three months. 3.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hawkins

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. AJOVista LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hawkins during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. USA Financial Formulas bought a new stake in shares of Hawkins during the fourth quarter valued at about $77,000. Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hawkins during the fourth quarter valued at about $108,000. AXS Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hawkins during the fourth quarter valued at about $179,000. Finally, Shell Asset Management Co. increased its position in shares of Hawkins by 36.9% during the first quarter. Shell Asset Management Co. now owns 2,342 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $180,000 after buying an additional 631 shares during the period. 69.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Hawkins Price Performance

NASDAQ HWKN opened at $118.74 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $2.49 billion, a PE ratio of 33.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.51 and a beta of 0.72. Hawkins has a 52 week low of $53.64 and a 52 week high of $123.82. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 2.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $101.97 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $85.17.

Hawkins Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 16th. This is an increase from Hawkins’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.61%. Hawkins’s dividend payout ratio is 20.06%.

About Hawkins

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.