Hexcel Co. (NYSE:HXL) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Analysts

Shares of Hexcel Co. (NYSE:HXL) have been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the fourteen research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $76.57.

HXL has been the subject of several recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Hexcel from $69.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. Morgan Stanley cut Hexcel from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $70.00 to $66.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. StockNews.com cut Hexcel from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Hexcel from $69.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Northcoast Research cut Hexcel from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Gina Fitzsimons sold 864 shares of the business’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 value of $62,294.40. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 3,375 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $243,337.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, insider Gina Fitzsimons sold 864 shares of the business’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 value of $62,294.40. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 3,375 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $243,337.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Thierry Merlot sold 4,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.63, for a total value of $322,335.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 50,371 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,608,074.73. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.85% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. CENTRAL TRUST Co grew its holdings in Hexcel by 68.1% during the third quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 442 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 179 shares during the period. Cetera Trust Company N.A acquired a new position in Hexcel during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. RiverPark Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Hexcel during the third quarter worth $41,000. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI boosted its position in Hexcel by 110.2% during the third quarter. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI now owns 641 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 336 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in Hexcel in the fourth quarter valued at $51,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.47% of the company’s stock.

Hexcel Stock Performance

Shares of HXL opened at $63.25 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $70.81 and a 200-day simple moving average of $69.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a current ratio of 2.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.26 billion, a PE ratio of 54.06, a PEG ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.23. Hexcel has a 1 year low of $58.81 and a 1 year high of $79.08.

Hexcel (NYSE:HXL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 22nd. The aerospace company reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.44. The business had revenue of $472.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $468.93 million. Hexcel had a return on equity of 8.91% and a net margin of 5.52%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.50 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Hexcel will post 2.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 issued a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 2nd. Hexcel’s payout ratio is currently 51.28%.

Hexcel Company Profile

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.