HAWKINS, INC. vs Seaboard Corporation, two Wholesale stocks. A side-by-side on valuation, growth, margins, returns, and what each price is betting.
Hawkins blends specialty chemicals and runs water-treatment services, a tidy operation earning 15.27% on equity at a 7.52% margin, and the market pays up for it at 41.24 times earnings and 6.29 times book. Seaboard, the diversified pork, trading, and shipping conglomerate, earns less on equity, 10.99%, and sells for a fraction of the price: 7.78 times earnings and 0.84 times book, below its own net worth. Free cash slightly favors Hawkins, 2.56% against Seaboard's negative 0.33%. Both keep debt low, 0.46 and 0.18. Hawkins is the higher-quality compounder priced for it; Seaboard is the cheap, cyclical conglomerate.
Comparison updated 2026-07-11.
| Metric | HWKN | SEB |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $134.50 | $4666.00 |
| Market cap | $2.8B | $4.5B |
| Sector | Wholesale | Wholesale |
| Stage | Mature | Mature |
| Implied growth (priced in) | +20.5% | -1.9% |
| P/E | 34.4 | 7.7 |
| P/B | 5.25 | 0.83 |
| P/S | 2.59 | 0.45 |
| EV/EBITDA | 17.5 | 8.6 |
| Revenue growth | +11.1% | +6.9% |
| Gross margin | 20.4% | 9.0% |
| Operating margin | 8.8% | 4.0% |
| Net margin | 7.5% | 6.0% |
| Return on equity | 15.3% | 11.0% |
| Return on assets | 8.3% | 7.0% |
| Return on invested capital | 12.3% | 3.9% |
| FCF yield | 3.1% | -0.3% |
| Dividend yield | 0.6% | 0.2% |
| Debt / equity | 0.46 | 0.18 |
| Current ratio | 2.21 | 2.38 |
| Altman Z (solvency) | 5.76 | 3.33 |
| Piotroski F (quality) | 6 / 9 | 5 / 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.