Banque Transatlantique SA Boosts Stake in Hexcel Corporation $HXL

Key Points

• Banque Transatlantique SA significantly increased its stake in Hexcel Corporation, acquiring an additional 106,146 shares to bring its total ownership to approximately 0.13%, valued at $5.37 million.
• Hexcel's recent quarterly earnings surpassed expectations, reporting $0.50 EPS against a consensus of $0.46, while the company's revenue decreased by 2.1% year-over-year.
• The stock has recently been upgraded by various analysts, with UBS raising its price target from $65.00 to $80.00, signaling increased bullish sentiment in the market for Hexcel's shares.

Banque Transatlantique SA raised its holdings in Hexcel Corporation (NYSE:HXL - Free Report) by 505,457.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 106,167 shares of the aerospace company's stock after purchasing an additional 106,146 shares during the quarter. Banque Transatlantique SA owned 0.13% of Hexcel worth $5,373,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Hexcel by 10.4% in the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 5,205 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $285,000 after purchasing an additional 492 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Hexcel by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 186,680 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $10,223,000 after acquiring an additional 937 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Hexcel by 32.4% during the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 57,266 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $3,136,000 after acquiring an additional 14,002 shares in the last quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. boosted its stake in shares of Hexcel by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 817,388 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $44,760,000 after acquiring an additional 22,396 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Hexcel by 95.3% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,306 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $126,000 after acquiring an additional 1,125 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.47% of the company's stock.

Hexcel Trading Down 0.9%

HXL traded down $0.60 during trading on Monday, hitting $64.29. The company's stock had a trading volume of 213,092 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,154,180. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $60.99 and its 200-day moving average price is $56.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 2.69 and a quick ratio of 1.50. The stock has a market cap of $5.11 billion, a PE ratio of 59.44, a PEG ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 1.38. Hexcel Corporation has a twelve month low of $45.28 and a twelve month high of $71.05.

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

Hexcel Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Thierry Merlot sold 8,897 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 approximately $3,276,528.88. This represents a 14.78% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Gina Fitzsimons sold 911 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 4,283 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $278,395. The trade was a 17.54% 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 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.