Ceredex Value Advisors LLC Reduces Stake in Hexcel Corporation $HXL

Key Points

• Ceredex Value Advisors LLC reduced its stake in Hexcel Corporation by 26.1%, owning 711,352 shares valued at approximately $38.95 million after selling 251,325 shares in the first quarter.
• Despite the decrease by Ceredex, several other investors have increased their holdings in Hexcel, with notable increases including a 4% growth from Beverly Hills Private Wealth LLC and a 5% growth from ProShare Advisors LLC.
• The stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" from analysts, with a price target of $63.33, although various firms have issued differing ratings and price objectives, indicating varying confidence levels in the company's performance.

Ceredex Value Advisors LLC reduced its stake in Hexcel Corporation (NYSE:HXL - Free Report) by 26.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 711,352 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 251,325 shares during the period. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC owned about 0.88% of Hexcel worth $38,954,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Hexcel by 10.4% in the first quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 5,205 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $285,000 after buying an additional 492 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Hexcel by 0.5% in 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 during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its position in shares of Hexcel by 32.4% in the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 57,266 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $3,136,000 after acquiring an additional 14,002 shares during the period. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. raised its stake in shares of Hexcel by 2.8% during the first quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 817,388 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $44,760,000 after acquiring an additional 22,396 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Hexcel by 95.3% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,306 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $126,000 after acquiring an additional 1,125 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.47% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley boosted 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. UBS Group boosted their target price on Hexcel from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Hexcel from $52.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $70.00 price target (up previously from $65.00) on shares of Hexcel in a report on Monday, July 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $63.33.

Hexcel Stock Down 1.2%

NYSE HXL traded down $0.75 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $63.21. The stock had a trading volume of 936,066 shares, compared to its average volume of 836,265. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $60.16 and a 200 day moving average price of $56.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 2.69 and a quick ratio of 1.50. Hexcel Corporation has a 1 year low of $45.28 and a 1 year high of $71.05. The stock has a market cap of $5.03 billion, a PE ratio of 58.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 1.36.

Hexcel (NYSE:HXL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The aerospace company reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.04. Hexcel had a return on equity of 9.76% and a net margin of 4.69%.The business had revenue of $489.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $482.20 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.60 EPS. The company's quarterly 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, research analysts expect that Hexcel Corporation will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Hexcel Dividend Announcement

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

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.