3,129 Shares in Hexcel Co. (NYSE:HXL) Acquired by First Trust Direct Indexing L.P.

First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. purchased a new position in Hexcel Co. (NYSE:HXL) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 3,129 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $231,000.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Hexcel by 6.3% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,377,915 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $101,621,000 after buying an additional 81,389 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hexcel in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Cetera Trust Company N.A purchased a new stake in Hexcel during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its stake in Hexcel by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 12,974 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $957,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Grandfield & Dodd LLC raised its holdings in shares of Hexcel by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Grandfield & Dodd LLC now owns 319,747 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $23,581,000 after buying an additional 3,433 shares during the last quarter. 95.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com lowered Hexcel from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on shares of Hexcel from $71.00 to $70.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on shares of Hexcel from $96.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 19th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Hexcel from $80.00 to $75.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Hexcel from $90.00 to $86.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $76.57.

Insider Activity at Hexcel

In related news, Director Catherine A. Suever bought 400 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $68.33 per share, for a total transaction of $27,332.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 15,748 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,076,060.84. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, 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 value of $322,335.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 50,371 shares in the company, valued at $3,608,074.73. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Catherine A. Suever bought 400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $68.33 per share, with a total value of $27,332.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 15,748 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,076,060.84. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders acquired 43,400 shares of company stock valued at $2,820,322. Corporate insiders own 1.85% of the company’s stock.

Hexcel Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE HXL opened at $71.18 on Wednesday. Hexcel Co. has a 52-week low of $58.81 and a 52-week high of $79.08. The company has a quick ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 2.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $69.58 and its 200-day simple moving average is $69.50. The firm has a market cap of $5.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 60.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.25.

Hexcel (NYSE:HXL) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The aerospace company reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.44. Hexcel had a return on equity of 8.97% and a net margin of 5.52%. The business had revenue of $472.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $468.93 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.50 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Hexcel Co. will post 2.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hexcel Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 3rd will be paid a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.84%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 2nd. Hexcel’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.28%.

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.