First Trust Advisors LP Purchases 52,506 Shares of Hexcel Corporation $HXL

First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in Hexcel Corporation (NYSE:HXL) by 28.7% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 235,425 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 52,506 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP’s holdings in Hexcel were worth $19,053,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Altfest L J & Co. Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Hexcel in the 4th quarter valued at $914,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its holdings in shares of Hexcel by 3,435.4% during the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 42,920 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $3,172,000 after purchasing an additional 41,706 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in Hexcel by 23.0% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,289,145 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $169,168,000 after purchasing an additional 428,541 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp purchased a new position in Hexcel in the 4th quarter worth $1,621,000. Finally, Willis Investment Counsel raised its position in Hexcel by 42.1% in the 4th quarter. Willis Investment Counsel now owns 41,437 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $3,062,000 after purchasing an additional 12,272 shares during the period. 95.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Hexcel News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Hexcel this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Second-quarter adjusted EPS was $0.66, above the $0.56–$0.57 analyst consensus and up from $0.50 a year earlier. Revenue increased 8.0% year over year to $529.3 million, narrowly exceeding expectations. Hexcel Q2 Earnings and Revenues Top Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Commercial Aerospace sales rose 18.3% to $346.6 million, while gross margin improved to 26.1% from 22.8%. Hexcel also reported stronger net income, operating cash flow of $96.7 million for the first six months, and $51.8 million in free cash flow. Hexcel Q2 Sales Rise 8% to $529 Million
• Positive Sentiment: Management raised 2026 adjusted EPS guidance to $2.30–$2.40, above the approximately $2.28 analyst consensus, signaling confidence in profitability. The board also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.18 per share, payable August 17.
• Neutral Sentiment: Defense, Space & Other sales declined 7.2% to $182.7 million, primarily because of the divestment of an Austrian industrial business. This weakness partly offset the commercial aerospace improvement.
• Negative Sentiment: Although EPS guidance is above consensus, the 2026 revenue outlook of approximately $2.025 billion–$2.125 billion has a midpoint near or below the roughly $2.1 billion consensus estimate. Investors may view this as limited top-line upside despite the earnings beat.
• Negative Sentiment: Hexcel’s shares trade near their 52-week high and at a price-to-earnings ratio near 70, leaving less room for execution disappointments. The strong results may therefore have prompted profit-taking as investors focused on forward revenue growth rather than the quarterly beat.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Hexcel from $85.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on Hexcel in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $95.00 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $105.00 target price on shares of Hexcel in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $79.00 target price on shares of Hexcel in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price target on Hexcel from $85.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $94.00.

Hexcel Trading Down 4.0%

NYSE:HXL opened at $105.64 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $97.44 and a 200 day moving average of $90.05. Hexcel Corporation has a 52 week low of $58.20 and a 52 week high of $111.74. The company has a quick ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 2.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 69.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.05.

Hexcel (NYSE:HXL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The aerospace company reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $529.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $528.08 million. Hexcel had a net margin of 6.07% and a return on equity of 11.08%. The company’s revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.50 EPS. Hexcel has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.300-2.400 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Hexcel Corporation will post 2.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Hexcel Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 17th. Investors of record on Monday, August 10th will be paid a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 10th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Hexcel’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 47.37%.

Hexcel Profile

Hexcel Corporation is a global leader in advanced composite materials for aerospace and industrial applications. The company specializes in the development and manufacture of lightweight, high-performance products that enhance fuel efficiency, durability and structural strength. Its offerings are critical to the aerospace sector, where demand for lighter, more efficient aircraft drives continuous innovation in materials.

Hexcel’s product portfolio encompasses carbon fiber reinforcements, pre-impregnated composites (prepregs), honeycomb core, engineered adhesives and structural film adhesives.