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

Hawkins, Inc. (NASDAQ:HWKN) saw 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. Currently, 4.9% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 133,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 7.0 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hawkins

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Hawkins in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio lifted its stake in shares of Hawkins by 13.6% in the 4th quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 25,556 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $3,135,000 after purchasing an additional 3,052 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in Hawkins by 11.2% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 48,378 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $5,935,000 after acquiring an additional 4,861 shares in the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC acquired a new position in Hawkins during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,754,000. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its position in Hawkins by 44.5% during the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 5,822 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $714,000 after acquiring an additional 1,794 shares in the last quarter. 69.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Hawkins Trading Up 0.9 %

HWKN traded up $0.94 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $104.99. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 79,676 shares, compared to its average volume of 150,622. The company has a current ratio of 2.50, a quick ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The firm 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 price of $114.43 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $120.91. Hawkins has a 52-week low of $68.43 and a 52-week high of $139.55.

Hawkins (NASDAQ:HWKN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.72 earnings per share 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%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Hawkins will post 4 earnings per share for the current year.

Hawkins Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. Hawkins’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.37%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.