Hawkins, Inc. (NASDAQ:HWKN) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Hawkins, Inc. (NASDAQ:HWKN) was the target of a large growth in short interest during the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 939,000 shares, a growth of 63.8% from the January 31st total of 573,200 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 133,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 7.0 days. Currently, 4.9% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Hawkins Stock Performance

HWKN traded up $0.94 during trading on Friday, reaching $104.99. 79,676 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 150,622. The stock has a market cap of $2.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.78, a PEG ratio of 3.80 and a beta of 0.82. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $114.43 and a 200 day moving average of $120.91. 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 has a 52 week low of $68.43 and a 52 week high of $139.55.

Hawkins (NASDAQ:HWKN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.72 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by ($0.05). Hawkins had a return on equity of 18.95% and a net margin of 8.60%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Hawkins will post 4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hawkins Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HWKN. Wasatch Advisors LP acquired a new position in Hawkins during the 4th quarter worth $42,466,000. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. boosted its position in Hawkins by 487.7% during the 4th 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 period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Hawkins during the 4th quarter worth $13,087,000. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its position in Hawkins by 900.2% during the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 82,576 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $10,166,000 after acquiring an additional 74,320 shares during the period. Finally, Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Hawkins by 291.5% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 86,100 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $10,562,000 after buying an additional 64,110 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.71% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, BWS Financial reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $122.00 price target on shares of Hawkins in a report on Friday, January 31st.

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.