Hexcel (NYSE:HXL) Price Target Raised to $78.00 at The Goldman Sachs Group

Hexcel (NYSE:HXL) had its price target boosted by The Goldman Sachs Group from $69.00 to $78.00 in a report released on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a neutral rating on the aerospace company’s stock.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Barclays decreased their price objective on Hexcel from $80.00 to $75.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Hexcel from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Saturday, February 3rd. UBS Group lowered shares of Hexcel from a buy rating to a neutral rating and reduced their target price for the company from $87.00 to $72.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Hexcel from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Hexcel from an equal weight rating to an underweight rating and cut their price target for the company from $70.00 to $66.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $76.50.

Hexcel Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of Hexcel stock opened at $61.71 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $71.37 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $69.52. The firm has a market cap of $5.13 billion, a PE ratio of 49.77, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.23. Hexcel has a 1 year low of $58.81 and a 1 year high of $79.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 2.74 and a quick ratio of 1.68.

Hexcel (NYSE:HXL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 25th. The aerospace company reported $0.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $457.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $474.01 million. Hexcel had a return on equity of 9.31% and a net margin of 5.91%. The business’s revenue was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.40 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Hexcel will post 2.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hexcel Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 9th were issued a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 8th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.97%. This is a boost from Hexcel’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. Hexcel’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.39%.

Insider Transactions at Hexcel

In related news, insider Gina Fitzsimons sold 864 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.10, for a total transaction of $62,294.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 3,375 shares in the company, valued at $243,337.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Hexcel news, insider Thierry Merlot sold 4,500 shares of Hexcel stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.63, for a total transaction of $322,335.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 50,371 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,608,074.73. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Gina Fitzsimons sold 864 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.10, for a total value of $62,294.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,375 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $243,337.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.39% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hexcel

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Morgan Stanley lifted its position in Hexcel by 838.6% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 6,810,199 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $400,780,000 after buying an additional 6,084,592 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Hexcel during the 4th quarter valued at about $56,738,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in Hexcel by 143.6% during 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 grew 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 purchasing an additional 724,280 shares during the period. Finally, BlackRock Inc. increased its stake in shares of Hexcel by 6.0% during the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 8,420,295 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $500,755,000 after purchasing an additional 475,375 shares in the last quarter. 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.