Hexcel Co. (NYSE:HXL) Shares Purchased by Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.

Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. raised its position in Hexcel Co. (NYSE:HXL) by 61.8% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 1,272 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 486 shares during the quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.’s holdings in Hexcel were worth $80,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Allworth Financial LP increased its position in Hexcel by 1,069.8% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 620 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 567 shares during the period. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI acquired a new position in shares of Hexcel during the fourth quarter valued at $49,000. Manchester Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Hexcel by 100.0% during the fourth quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 840 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 420 shares in the last quarter. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new position in Hexcel in the 4th quarter valued at about $57,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Hexcel by 21.1% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,181 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $74,000 after buying an additional 206 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.47% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on HXL. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Hexcel from $74.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Barclays lowered their price target on Hexcel from $75.00 to $68.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. 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 report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Hexcel from $81.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $72.25.

Hexcel Price Performance

HXL stock opened at $54.71 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $61.72 and a two-hundred day moving average of $62.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.40 billion, a PE ratio of 34.41, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a current ratio of 2.21, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. Hexcel Co. has a one year low of $54.10 and a one year high of $73.58.

Hexcel (NYSE:HXL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The aerospace company reported $0.52 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%. On average, analysts forecast that Hexcel Co. will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Hexcel Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a dividend of $0.17 per share. This is an increase from Hexcel’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.24%. Hexcel’s payout ratio is currently 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.