Insider Buying: Hexcel Co. (NYSE:HXL) Director Acquires 400 Shares of Stock

Hexcel Co. (NYSE:HXL) Director Catherine A. Suever purchased 400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $68.33 per share, for a total transaction of $27,332.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 15,748 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,076,060.84. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Hexcel Stock Performance

HXL traded up $2.24 during trading on Monday, hitting $70.40. 1,234,836 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 956,226. The company has a quick ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 2.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The firm has a market cap of $5.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.25. Hexcel Co. has a one year low of $58.81 and a one year high of $79.08. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $69.74 and its 200 day moving average is $69.42.

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. The business had revenue of $472.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $468.93 million. Hexcel had a return on equity of 8.97% and a net margin of 5.52%. Hexcel’s revenue was up 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.50 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Hexcel Co. will post 2.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hexcel Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 3rd will be given a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 2nd. Hexcel’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 51.28%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Cetera Trust Company N.A bought a new position in shares of Hexcel in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. CENTRAL TRUST Co boosted its stake in Hexcel by 68.1% in the 3rd quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 442 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares during the period. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Hexcel during the 1st quarter valued at about $36,000. RiverPark Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hexcel during the third quarter valued at about $41,000. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Hexcel in the fourth quarter worth about $51,000. 95.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on HXL shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on shares of Hexcel from $71.00 to $70.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. Northcoast Research downgraded shares of Hexcel from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Morgan Stanley lowered Hexcel from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $70.00 to $66.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $80.00 price objective on shares of Hexcel in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Hexcel from $80.00 to $75.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $76.57.

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.