Hexcel Co. (NYSE:HXL) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

Shares of Hexcel Co. (NYSE:HXL) have earned an average rating of “Hold” from the fourteen ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, seven have issued a hold recommendation and five have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $76.57.

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on HXL shares. Bank of America reissued an “underperform” rating and issued a $65.00 price target (down previously from $75.00) on shares of Hexcel in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Hexcel from $69.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Truist Financial decreased their price target on shares of Hexcel from $96.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 19th. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Hexcel from $77.00 to $73.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Hexcel from $69.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hexcel news, insider Gina Fitzsimons sold 864 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.10, for a total transaction of $62,294.40. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,375 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $243,337.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Hexcel news, insider Gina Fitzsimons sold 864 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.10, for a total transaction of $62,294.40. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,375 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $243,337.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Thierry Merlot sold 4,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.63, for a total transaction of $322,335.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 50,371 shares in the company, valued at $3,608,074.73. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.39% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hexcel

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Cetera Trust Company N.A acquired a new position in Hexcel in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. CENTRAL TRUST Co grew its stake in Hexcel by 68.1% in the 3rd quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 442 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 179 shares during the last quarter. RiverPark Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Hexcel in the 3rd quarter valued at about $41,000. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI grew its stake in Hexcel by 110.2% in the 3rd quarter. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI now owns 641 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 336 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. acquired a new position in Hexcel in the 4th quarter valued at about $51,000. 95.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Hexcel Price Performance

HXL opened at $64.13 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $70.41 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $69.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a current ratio of 2.74. Hexcel has a 52 week low of $58.81 and a 52 week high of $79.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.33 billion, a PE ratio of 54.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.23.

Hexcel (NYSE:HXL) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The aerospace company reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.44. Hexcel had a net margin of 5.52% and a return on equity of 8.97%. The firm had revenue of $472.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $468.93 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.50 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Hexcel will post 2.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Hexcel Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 2nd. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.94%. Hexcel’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.28%.

About Hexcel

Hexcel Corporation develops, manufactures, and markets carbon fibers, structural reinforcements, honeycomb structures, resins, and composite materials and parts for use in commercial aerospace, space and defense, and industrial applications. It operates through two segments, Composite Materials and Engineered Products.