Hexcel Co. (NYSE:HXL) Stock Holdings Lessened by Loomis Sayles & Co. L P

Loomis Sayles & Co. L P cut its stake in shares of Hexcel Co. (NYSE:HXL) by 2.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 998,742 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 29,948 shares during the quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P’s holdings in Hexcel were worth $62,621,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of HXL. Brandes Investment Partners LP boosted its position in shares of Hexcel by 99.6% in the 4th quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP now owns 1,304,669 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $81,803,000 after purchasing an additional 651,062 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its holdings in shares of Hexcel by 249.6% in the fourth quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 815,658 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $51,142,000 after buying an additional 582,353 shares during the period. DAVENPORT & Co LLC increased its position in shares of Hexcel by 1,153.9% in the fourth quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 535,962 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $33,546,000 after acquiring an additional 493,218 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Hexcel by 66.9% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,198,136 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $75,123,000 after acquiring an additional 480,207 shares during the period. Finally, TimesSquare Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hexcel during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $14,148,000. 95.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on HXL shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Hexcel from $81.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. TD Cowen upgraded Hexcel to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 24th. StockNews.com raised Hexcel from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Hexcel from $74.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Hexcel from $76.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Hexcel currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $73.09.

Hexcel Price Performance

NYSE HXL opened at $59.14 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $62.60 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $62.22. Hexcel Co. has a 12-month low of $55.25 and a 12-month high of $73.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.80 billion, a PE ratio of 37.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a quick ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 2.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46.

Hexcel (NYSE:HXL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The aerospace company reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52. Hexcel had a net margin of 6.94% and a return on equity of 10.66%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Hexcel Co. will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hexcel Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a $0.17 dividend. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.15%. This is an increase from Hexcel’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. Hexcel’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 42.77%.

Hexcel 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.