Traders Purchase High Volume of Call Options on Hexcel (NYSE:HXL)

Hexcel Corporation (NYSE:HXL) was the target of some unusual options trading on Tuesday. Stock traders purchased 5,252 call options on the company. This is an increase of 1,633% compared to the typical volume of 303 call options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Hexcel from $67.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Truist Financial set a $94.00 target price on Hexcel in a research note on Friday, January 30th. UBS Group set a $99.00 target price on Hexcel in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Hexcel from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, KeyCorp started coverage on Hexcel in a research report on Wednesday, March 25th. They issued a “sector weight” rating for the company. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Hexcel has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $82.17.

Insider Transactions at Hexcel

In other Hexcel news, insider Amy S. Evans sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.80, for a total transaction of $139,200.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 1,979 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $183,651.20. This represents a 43.12% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 2.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Royal Bank of Canada grew its holdings in Hexcel by 12.6% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 119,501 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $6,544,000 after purchasing an additional 13,374 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its holdings in Hexcel by 7.9% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 6,360 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $348,000 after purchasing an additional 468 shares during the period. Caxton Associates LLP bought a new position in shares of Hexcel during the first quarter worth $234,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its position in shares of Hexcel by 14.5% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 274,522 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $15,033,000 after purchasing an additional 34,822 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Hexcel by 138.7% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 759 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 441 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 95.47% of the company’s stock.

Hexcel Trading Up 3.3%

Shares of Hexcel stock traded up $2.58 on Tuesday, hitting $79.64. 634,096 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,294,605. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $85.23 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $75.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 2.26 and a quick ratio of 1.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.04 billion, a PE ratio of 57.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.01. Hexcel has a one year low of $45.28 and a one year high of $95.22.

Hexcel (NYSE:HXL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The aerospace company reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $491.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $484.46 million. Hexcel had a return on equity of 9.54% and a net margin of 5.78%.The firm’s revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.52 EPS. Hexcel has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.100-2.300 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Hexcel will post 2.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hexcel Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 9th were paid a $0.18 dividend. This is a boost from Hexcel’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 9th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Hexcel’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 52.17%.

About Hexcel

Hexcel Corporation is a global leader in advanced composite materials for aerospace and industrial applications. The company specializes in the development and manufacture of lightweight, high-performance products that enhance fuel efficiency, durability and structural strength. Its offerings are critical to the aerospace sector, where demand for lighter, more efficient aircraft drives continuous innovation in materials.

Hexcel’s product portfolio encompasses carbon fiber reinforcements, pre-impregnated composites (prepregs), honeycomb core, engineered adhesives and structural film adhesives.