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

Shares of Hexcel Co. (NYSE:HXL) have been given a consensus rating of “Hold” by the thirteen ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $77.46.

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on HXL shares. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Hexcel from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $57.00 to $70.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Hexcel from $80.00 to $75.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Hexcel from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $70.00 to $66.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. UBS Group lowered shares of Hexcel from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $87.00 to $72.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Hexcel from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 3rd.

Insider Transactions at Hexcel

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC purchased a new position in Hexcel in the fourth quarter valued at about $646,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Hexcel by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,846,871 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $578,707,000 after buying an additional 27,850 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in Hexcel by 18.0% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 730,078 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $53,843,000 after buying an additional 111,198 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in Hexcel by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 282,893 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $20,863,000 after buying an additional 12,362 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Speece Thorson Capital Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Hexcel by 71.6% during the 4th quarter. Speece Thorson Capital Group Inc. now owns 179,670 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $13,251,000 after purchasing an additional 74,957 shares in the last quarter. 95.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Hexcel Price Performance

Shares of Hexcel stock opened at $72.85 on Tuesday. 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 has a twelve month low of $58.81 and a twelve month high of $79.08. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $72.14 and a 200 day moving average price of $69.56. The firm has a market cap of $6.05 billion, a PE ratio of 58.75, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.23.

Hexcel (NYSE:HXL) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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). Hexcel had a return on equity of 9.31% and a net margin of 5.91%. The firm had revenue of $457.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $474.01 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.40 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Hexcel will post 2.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 dividend of $0.15 per share. This is an increase from Hexcel’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 8th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.82%. Hexcel’s dividend payout ratio is 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.