Hexcel Co. (NYSE:HXL) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

Shares of Hexcel Co. (NYSE:HXL) have earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the fourteen ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eight have assigned a hold recommendation and four have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $71.33.

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. TD Cowen upgraded Hexcel to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Hexcel from $67.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Hexcel from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $68.00 to $74.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on Hexcel from $63.00 to $60.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Hexcel from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of HXL. Speece Thorson Capital Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Hexcel by 15.6% in the third quarter. Speece Thorson Capital Group Inc. now owns 244,873 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $15,140,000 after purchasing an additional 32,960 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its stake in shares of Hexcel by 32.1% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 70,023 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $4,330,000 after acquiring an additional 17,011 shares during the last quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. raised its holdings in shares of Hexcel by 12.3% during the 3rd quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 581,557 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $35,957,000 after acquiring an additional 63,730 shares during the period. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. boosted its position in shares of Hexcel by 215.5% during the 2nd quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 865,235 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $54,034,000 after acquiring an additional 590,975 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of Hexcel by 11.7% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 77,493 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $4,791,000 after purchasing an additional 8,135 shares during the period. 95.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Hexcel Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of Hexcel stock opened at $62.59 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 2.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The company has a market cap of $5.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.78, a PEG ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.30. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $62.11 and its 200-day moving average price is $62.44. Hexcel has a 52-week low of $57.50 and a 52-week high of $77.09.

Hexcel (NYSE:HXL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The aerospace company reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.01. Hexcel had a return on equity of 9.99% and a net margin of 5.73%. The business had revenue of $457.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $457.07 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.38 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Hexcel will post 2.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hexcel Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Investors of record on Friday, November 1st were given a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 1st. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.96%. Hexcel’s payout ratio is presently 45.80%.

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.