AQR Capital Management LLC Cuts Stake in Hexcel Corporation $HXL

AQR Capital Management LLC lessened its stake in Hexcel Corporation (NYSE:HXL - Free Report) by 34.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 684,559 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 355,875 shares during the quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC owned 0.85% of Hexcel worth $37,486,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of HXL. NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new position in Hexcel in the 1st quarter worth about $61,000. Brooklyn Investment Group raised its position in Hexcel by 320.2% in the 1st quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,164 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $64,000 after buying an additional 887 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position in Hexcel by 71.2% in the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,200 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $66,000 after buying an additional 499 shares during the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd raised its position in Hexcel by 413.7% in the 1st quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,536 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $84,000 after buying an additional 1,237 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Hexcel by 95.3% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,306 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $126,000 after buying an additional 1,125 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.47% of the company's stock.

Hexcel Stock Performance

Hexcel stock traded down $0.32 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $62.28. The stock had a trading volume of 174,227 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,149,666. The firm's fifty day moving average is $61.45 and its two-hundred day moving average is $56.82. The company has a market capitalization of $4.95 billion, a PE ratio of 57.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.38. Hexcel Corporation has a 52-week low of $45.28 and a 52-week high of $71.05. The company has a current ratio of 2.69, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53.

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

Hexcel Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 8th were paid a $0.17 dividend. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 8th. Hexcel's dividend payout ratio is presently 62.96%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Hexcel news, insider Thierry Merlot sold 8,897 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.86, for a total transaction of $568,162.42. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 51,308 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,276,528.88. This trade represents a 14.78% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Gina Fitzsimons sold 911 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.39% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on HXL. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Hexcel from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Zacks Research raised Hexcel from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $70.00 price target (up previously from $65.00) on shares of Hexcel in a research report on Monday, July 28th. UBS Group raised shares of Hexcel from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price target for the company from $65.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 2nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Hexcel from $52.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $65.00.

About Hexcel

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.