Westfield Capital Management Co. LP Sells 59,109 Shares of Hexcel Co. (NYSE:HXL)

Westfield Capital Management Co. LP decreased its holdings in shares of Hexcel Co. (NYSE:HXL) by 4.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,403,184 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 59,109 shares during the period. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP owned 1.67% of Hexcel worth $103,485,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank bought a new position in Hexcel in the fourth quarter worth approximately $66,597,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in Hexcel by 143.6% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,466,380 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $108,146,000 after acquiring an additional 864,405 shares in the last quarter. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Hexcel by 93.0% in the fourth quarter. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC now owns 1,503,055 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $110,850,000 after acquiring an additional 724,280 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Hexcel by 102.3% in the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 643,487 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $41,917,000 after acquiring an additional 325,369 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC bought a new position in Hexcel in the third quarter worth approximately $12,188,000. Institutional investors own 95.47% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $80.00 target price on shares of Hexcel in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Hexcel from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $81.00 to $95.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. Truist Financial dropped their target price on Hexcel from $96.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Hexcel from $69.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Hexcel from $90.00 to $86.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $77.57.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Catherine A. Suever purchased 400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $68.33 per share, with a total value of $27,332.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 15,748 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,076,060.84. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Catherine A. Suever purchased 400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $68.33 per share, with a total value of $27,332.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 15,748 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,076,060.84. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Tom Gentile purchased 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was bought at an average cost of $66.25 per share, with a total value of $993,750.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 15,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $993,750. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders bought 43,400 shares of company stock valued at $2,820,322 over the last ninety days. 1.39% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hexcel Stock Performance

NYSE:HXL traded up $1.62 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $70.53. The stock had a trading volume of 610,908 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,024,892. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a current ratio of 2.74. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $68.87 and a 200 day simple moving average of $70.32. Hexcel Co. has a 12-month low of $58.81 and a 12-month high of $79.08. The stock has a market cap of $5.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 60.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.25.

Hexcel (NYSE:HXL) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The aerospace company reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.44. Hexcel had a return on equity of 8.97% and a net margin of 5.52%. The business had revenue of $472.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $468.93 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.50 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Hexcel Co. will post 2.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hexcel Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 3rd were given a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.85%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 2nd. Hexcel’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.