Insider Buying: Hexcel Co. (NYSE:HXL) CEO Acquires 15,000 Shares of Stock

Hexcel Co. (NYSE:HXL) CEO Nick L. Stanage bought 15,000 shares of Hexcel stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 26th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $64.29 per share, for a total transaction of $964,350.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 392,446 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,230,353.34. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

Hexcel Price Performance

Shares of HXL traded up $1.27 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $65.43. 1,084,063 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 920,652. The stock has a market cap of $5.44 billion, a PE ratio of 54.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a current ratio of 2.74, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $70.41 and its 200-day simple moving average is $69.43. Hexcel Co. has a 12 month low of $58.81 and a 12 month high of $79.08.

Hexcel (NYSE:HXL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The aerospace company reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.44. Hexcel had a return on equity of 8.97% and a net margin of 5.52%. The firm had revenue of $472.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $468.93 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.50 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Hexcel Co. will post 2.22 EPS for the current year.

Hexcel Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 3rd will be paid a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 2nd. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.92%. Hexcel’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.28%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on HXL. Northcoast Research downgraded shares of Hexcel from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of Hexcel from $90.00 to $86.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Bank of America reiterated an “underperform” rating and issued a $65.00 price objective (down from $75.00) on shares of Hexcel in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Hexcel from $77.00 to $73.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Hexcel from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $70.00 to $66.00 in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Hexcel currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $76.57.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hexcel

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Cetera Trust Company N.A purchased a new stake in Hexcel in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. CENTRAL TRUST Co grew its holdings in Hexcel by 68.1% during 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 in the last quarter. RiverPark Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Hexcel during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI lifted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 336 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Hexcel in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $51,000. 95.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.