Hexcel Co. (NYSE:HXL) Stake Lifted by Natixis Advisors L.P.

Natixis Advisors L.P. raised its stake in Hexcel Co. (NYSE:HXL) by 10.6% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 171,756 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 16,433 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P.’s holdings in Hexcel were worth $12,667,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Earnest Partners LLC boosted its stake in Hexcel by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 4,344,230 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $282,983,000 after purchasing an additional 47,591 shares during the period. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP boosted its position in Hexcel by 18.8% during the 3rd quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 1,462,293 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $95,254,000 after acquiring an additional 231,207 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Hexcel by 6.3% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,377,915 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $101,621,000 after purchasing an additional 81,389 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. raised its stake in shares of Hexcel by 5.5% during the third quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 1,053,735 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $68,640,000 after purchasing an additional 55,384 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Hexcel by 2.6% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 783,019 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $51,006,000 after purchasing an additional 19,897 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 95.47% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HXL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Truist Financial dropped their price target on shares of Hexcel from $96.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 19th. StockNews.com downgraded Hexcel from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Hexcel from $90.00 to $86.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Bank of America restated an “underperform” rating and issued a $65.00 price objective (down previously from $75.00) on shares of Hexcel in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut shares of Hexcel from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $70.00 to $66.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. Two equities research 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. According to MarketBeat, Hexcel has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $76.57.

Hexcel Stock Up 1.1 %

HXL stock opened at $71.18 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $69.58 and its 200-day simple moving average is $69.50. Hexcel Co. has a 52-week low of $58.81 and a 52-week high of $79.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 2.74 and a quick ratio of 1.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 60.84, a P/E/G 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 (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.44. The company had revenue of $472.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $468.93 million. Hexcel had a return on equity of 8.97% and a net margin of 5.52%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.50 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Hexcel Co. will post 2.22 EPS for the current year.

Hexcel Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Hexcel

In other news, CEO Nick L. Stanage acquired 15,000 shares of Hexcel stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 26th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $64.29 per share, with a total value of $964,350.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 392,446 shares in the company, valued at $25,230,353.34. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CEO Nick L. Stanage acquired 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 26th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $64.29 per share, with a total value of $964,350.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 392,446 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,230,353.34. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Gina Fitzsimons sold 864 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.10, for a total value of $62,294.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 3,375 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $243,337.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have purchased 43,400 shares of company stock valued at $2,820,322. Corporate insiders own 1.85% of the company’s stock.

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.