ASHLAND INC. vs HAWKINS, INC., two Wholesale stocks. A side-by-side on valuation, growth, margins, returns, and what each price is betting.
Where ASH and HWKN diverge most: on revenue growth, ASH reads -1.3% and HWKN reads +9.4%; on fcf yield, ASH reads -5.2% and HWKN reads 3.5%. The rest of the comparable metrics sit closer together. What HWKN's price implies is a somewhat stretched bet versus history (whole-company basis). The bull and bear cases for each are in their full reports below.
| Metric | ASH | HWKN |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $70.87 | $124.11 |
| Market cap | $3.3B | $2.6B |
| Sector | Wholesale | Wholesale |
| Stage | Mature | Mature |
| Implied growth (priced in) | — | +17.4% |
| P/E | 56.3 | 32.1 |
| P/B | 1.74 | 4.72 |
| P/S | 1.77 | 2.34 |
| EV/EBITDA | 12.8 | 16.4 |
| Revenue growth | -1.3% | +9.4% |
| Gross margin | 34.2% | 23.4% |
| Operating margin | 8.7% | 12.3% |
| Net margin | 2.8% | 7.3% |
| Return on equity | 2.7% | 14.7% |
| Return on assets | 1.1% | 8.0% |
| Return on invested capital | 3.1% | 11.8% |
| FCF yield | -5.2% | 3.5% |
| Dividend yield | 2.3% | 0.6% |
| Debt / equity | 0.73 | 0.45 |
| Current ratio | 3.05 | 2.27 |
| Altman Z (solvency) | 6.66 | 5.51 |
| Piotroski F (quality) | 5 / 9 | 7 / 9 |
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The stronger value is highlighted per metric where one is strictly better on that single number; it is not an overall verdict on either company. For informational and research purposes only. Not investment advice. Not a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any security. boothcheck is not a registered investment adviser. Past performance does not guarantee future results.