Hexcel (NYSE:HXL) Rating Lowered to “Hold” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Hexcel (NYSE:HXL) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Thursday.

Several other analysts also recently commented on the stock. Vertical Research downgraded shares of Hexcel from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $65.00 target price for the company. in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Hexcel from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on Hexcel from $63.00 to $60.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Royal Bank of Canada raised Hexcel from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $68.00 to $74.00 in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their price objective on Hexcel from $78.00 to $76.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $73.25.

Hexcel Price Performance

Shares of NYSE HXL opened at $67.48 on Thursday. Hexcel has a twelve month low of $57.50 and a twelve month high of $77.09. The company has a market cap of $5.47 billion, a PE ratio of 42.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.30. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $63.73 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $62.70. The company has a quick ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 2.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51.

Hexcel (NYSE:HXL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The aerospace company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52. Hexcel had a return on equity of 10.55% and a net margin of 6.94%. On average, analysts predict that Hexcel will post 2.34 EPS for the current year.

Hexcel Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.01%. This is an increase from Hexcel’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. Hexcel’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.74%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hexcel

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Earnest Partners LLC increased its stake in Hexcel by 2.9% in the second quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 4,835,994 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $302,008,000 after acquiring an additional 136,290 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Hexcel by 277.9% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,695,343 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $105,874,000 after purchasing an additional 1,246,765 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in shares of Hexcel by 36.2% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,600,619 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $98,966,000 after buying an additional 425,402 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Hexcel by 8.0% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,406,287 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $87,829,000 after buying an additional 103,679 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Copeland Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Hexcel by 12.5% during the 3rd quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 1,161,415 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $71,810,000 after buying an additional 129,335 shares during the last quarter. 95.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.