Hexcel Co. (NYSE:HXL) Shares Sold by Next Century Growth Investors LLC

Next Century Growth Investors LLC lowered its position in shares of Hexcel Co. (NYSE:HXL) by 26.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 203,096 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 74,584 shares during the quarter. Next Century Growth Investors LLC owned about 0.25% of Hexcel worth $12,734,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of HXL. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in shares of Hexcel by 24.7% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,996,363 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $125,172,000 after acquiring an additional 395,744 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. increased its stake in Hexcel by 9.0% during the fourth quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 1,482,249 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $92,938,000 after purchasing an additional 122,281 shares during the last quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP raised its holdings in shares of Hexcel by 99.6% during the fourth quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP now owns 1,304,669 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $81,803,000 after purchasing an additional 651,062 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in shares of Hexcel by 66.9% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,198,136 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $75,123,000 after buying an additional 480,207 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Channing Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Hexcel by 10.3% in the 4th quarter. Channing Capital Management LLC now owns 1,128,681 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $70,768,000 after buying an additional 105,510 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 95.47% of the company’s stock.

Hexcel Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE:HXL opened at $51.91 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $58.55 and a 200-day moving average of $61.36. The company has a current ratio of 2.21, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The firm has a market cap of $4.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.08. Hexcel Co. has a twelve month low of $45.28 and a twelve month high of $73.58.

Hexcel (NYSE:HXL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The aerospace company reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52. Hexcel had a return on equity of 10.66% and a net margin of 6.94%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Hexcel Co. will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hexcel Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were given a $0.17 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. This is a boost from Hexcel’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.31%. Hexcel’s payout ratio is 42.77%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on HXL. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Hexcel from $74.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. TD Cowen upgraded Hexcel to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on Hexcel from $85.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 28th. StockNews.com lowered Hexcel from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Hexcel from $87.00 to $63.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $69.73.

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.