Analysts Set Hexcel Co. (NYSE:HXL) Target Price at $77.46

Hexcel Co. (NYSE:HXL) has been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the thirteen analysts that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have issued a hold recommendation and six have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $77.46.

A number of research analysts have issued reports on HXL shares. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $80.00 target price on shares of Hexcel in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Truist Financial raised shares of Hexcel from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $62.00 to $96.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Hexcel from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Hexcel from $80.00 to $75.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut shares of Hexcel from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $70.00 to $66.00 in a report on Thursday, February 22nd.

Insider Activity

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

Institutional Trading of Hexcel

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. BlackRock Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Hexcel by 1.2% during the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 9,171,181 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $625,933,000 after acquiring an additional 112,122 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Hexcel by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,846,871 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $578,707,000 after acquiring an additional 27,850 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 6,084,592 shares during the period. Earnest Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Hexcel by 1.1% during the third quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 4,344,230 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $282,983,000 after acquiring an additional 47,591 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp grew its position in Hexcel by 11.2% during the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,409,631 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $202,771,000 after purchasing an additional 344,711 shares in the last quarter. 95.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Hexcel Trading Up 0.1 %

NYSE HXL opened at $72.85 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.75, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.23. Hexcel has a 52-week low of $58.81 and a 52-week high of $79.08. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $72.14 and a 200 day moving average price of $69.56. The company has a quick ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 2.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41.

Hexcel (NYSE:HXL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The aerospace company reported $0.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.49 by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $457.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $474.01 million. Hexcel had a return on equity of 9.31% and a net margin of 5.91%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.40 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Hexcel will post 2.25 EPS for the current year.

Hexcel Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 9th were paid a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 8th. This is an increase from Hexcel’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. Hexcel’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.39%.

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.