Amundi Sells 49,706 Shares of Hexcel Corporation $HXL

Key Points

• Amundi has reduced its stake in Hexcel Corporation by 35.5%, selling 49,706 shares to hold a total of 90,354 shares valued at approximately $4.64 million.
• Various hedge funds increased their positions in Hexcel, notably Price T Rowe Associates, which grew its stake by 32.4%, now owning over 3.3 million shares.
• Hexcel's recent quarterly earnings report showed a decline in revenue, with earnings per share of $0.50, beating estimates but down from $0.60 a year prior.

Amundi cut its position in Hexcel Corporation (NYSE:HXL - Free Report) by 35.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 90,354 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 49,706 shares during the quarter. Amundi owned about 0.11% of Hexcel worth $4,642,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Hexcel by 416.9% during the 1st quarter. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC now owns 1,166,489 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $63,877,000 after purchasing an additional 940,839 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in Hexcel by 32.4% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 3,314,702 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $181,514,000 after purchasing an additional 812,026 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC grew its holdings in Hexcel by 10,767.3% during the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 392,091 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $21,471,000 after purchasing an additional 388,483 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in Hexcel during the first quarter worth approximately $13,929,000. Finally, Citigroup Inc. raised its stake in Hexcel by 214.3% in the first quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 359,067 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $19,663,000 after buying an additional 244,828 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.47% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on HXL shares. UBS Group upgraded Hexcel from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $65.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 2nd. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Hexcel from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $70.00 price objective (up from $65.00) on shares of Hexcel in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Zacks Research raised shares of Hexcel from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 4th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Hexcel from $52.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $65.00.

Hexcel Stock Performance

Shares of HXL traded up $0.61 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $62.71. 672,591 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 809,554. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $61.75 and its 200 day simple moving average is $56.77. The company has a market cap of $4.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.07, a PEG ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.38. Hexcel Corporation has a twelve month low of $45.28 and a twelve month high of $71.05. The company has a quick ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 2.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53.

Hexcel (NYSE:HXL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The aerospace company reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.04. Hexcel had a net margin of 4.69% and a return on equity of 9.76%. The business had revenue of $489.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $482.20 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.60 earnings per share. Hexcel's revenue was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Hexcel has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.850-2.050 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Hexcel Corporation will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Hexcel Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 8th were issued a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 8th. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Hexcel's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 62.96%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Gina Fitzsimons sold 911 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.00, for a total transaction of $59,215.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 4,283 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $278,395. This trade represents a 17.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Thierry Merlot sold 8,897 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.86, for a total value of $568,162.42. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 51,308 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,276,528.88. The trade was a 14.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.03% of the stock is currently owned by 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.