Hexcel Co. (NYSE:HXL) Stock Position Lowered by ARK Investment Management LLC

ARK Investment Management LLC cut its stake in shares of Hexcel Co. (NYSE:HXL) by 15.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,132 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 388 shares during the period. ARK Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Hexcel were worth $157,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of HXL. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Hexcel by 12.6% during the first quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 8,268 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $492,000 after purchasing an additional 922 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE grew its holdings in shares of Hexcel by 17.0% during the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 11,064 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $658,000 after buying an additional 1,609 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Hexcel by 10.6% during the first quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 17,097 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,017,000 after buying an additional 1,641 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Hexcel by 18.0% during the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 16,823 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,000,000 after buying an additional 2,567 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can grew its stake in Hexcel by 22.7% in the first quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 34,884 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,087,000 after purchasing an additional 6,443 shares in the last quarter. 95.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on HXL. Truist Financial upgraded Hexcel from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $62.00 to $96.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. UBS Group cut Hexcel from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $87.00 to $72.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. Barclays cut 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. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $80.00 price target on shares of Hexcel in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Hexcel from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $57.00 to $70.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Hexcel currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $77.46.

Hexcel Price Performance

Shares of NYSE HXL opened at $72.72 on Thursday. Hexcel Co. has a twelve month low of $58.81 and a twelve month high of $79.08. The company has a market cap of $6.04 billion, a PE ratio of 58.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.23. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $72.11 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $69.54. 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 (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). The company had revenue of $457.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $474.01 million. Hexcel had a net margin of 5.91% and a return on equity of 9.31%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.40 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Hexcel Co. will post 2.25 EPS for the current year.

Hexcel Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 16th. Investors of record on Friday, February 9th were paid a $0.15 dividend. This is a boost from Hexcel’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 8th. Hexcel’s payout ratio is 48.39%.

Insider Activity at Hexcel

In other Hexcel news, insider Gina Fitzsimons sold 864 shares of the company’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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,375 shares in the company, valued at $243,337.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Hexcel news, insider Gina Fitzsimons sold 864 shares of the company’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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,375 shares in the company, valued at $243,337.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Thierry Merlot sold 4,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.63, for a total transaction of $322,335.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 50,371 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,608,074.73. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.39% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.