Avior Wealth Management LLC Has $383,000 Stake in Hexcel Co. (NYSE:HXL)

Avior Wealth Management LLC reduced its holdings in Hexcel Co. (NYSE:HXL) by 10.8% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 5,199 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 627 shares during the quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Hexcel were worth $383,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its holdings in shares of Hexcel by 7.6% in the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 18,507 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,365,000 after acquiring an additional 1,308 shares in the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new stake in shares of Hexcel in the fourth quarter worth about $1,740,000. Simplicity Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hexcel in the fourth quarter worth about $201,000. Ingalls & Snyder LLC increased its holdings in shares of Hexcel by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Ingalls & Snyder LLC now owns 412,157 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $30,397,000 after acquiring an additional 9,883 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Hexcel by 60.6% in the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 5,186 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $382,000 after acquiring an additional 1,957 shares in the last quarter. 95.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Barclays lowered their price target on Hexcel from $80.00 to $75.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. StockNews.com downgraded Hexcel from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 3rd. Bank of America reiterated an “underperform” rating and set a $65.00 price objective (down from $75.00) on shares of Hexcel in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Hexcel from $69.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Hexcel from $69.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $76.93.

Insider Activity

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

Hexcel Price Performance

Hexcel stock opened at $61.40 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $71.60 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $69.54. Hexcel Co. has a one year low of $58.81 and a one year high of $79.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 2.74 and a quick ratio of 1.68. The firm has a market cap of $5.10 billion, a PE ratio of 49.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.23.

Hexcel (NYSE:HXL) last issued 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). Hexcel had a net margin of 5.91% and a return on equity of 9.31%. The business had revenue of $457.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $474.01 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.40 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Hexcel Co. will post 2.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hexcel Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 9th were paid a $0.15 dividend. This is a positive change 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 0.98%. Hexcel’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.39%.

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.