Comerica Bank Grows Position in Hexcel Corporation $HXL

Key Points

• Comerica Bank has increased its stake in Hexcel Corporation by 34.4%, owning 85,127 shares valued at approximately $4.66 million as of its latest filing.
• Hexcel's latest quarterly earnings report indicated an EPS of $0.50, exceeding the expected $0.46, despite a 2.1% revenue decline year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.17 per share, reflecting an annualized yield of 1.1%, with a current payout ratio of 62.96%.

Comerica Bank grew its holdings in Hexcel Corporation (NYSE:HXL - Free Report) by 34.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 85,127 shares of the aerospace company's stock after buying an additional 21,811 shares during the quarter. Comerica Bank owned approximately 0.11% of Hexcel worth $4,662,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Hexcel in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $61,000. Brooklyn Investment Group increased its position in shares of Hexcel by 320.2% in the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,164 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $64,000 after purchasing an additional 887 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Hexcel by 71.2% in the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,200 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $66,000 after buying an additional 499 shares in the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Hexcel by 413.7% during the first quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,536 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $84,000 after purchasing an additional 1,237 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted 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 purchasing an additional 1,125 shares in the last quarter. 95.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Hexcel Price Performance

NYSE HXL traded down $0.08 during trading on Thursday, reaching $63.81. The company's stock had a trading volume of 108,307 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,158,836. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.08 billion, a PE ratio of 59.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.38. 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 firm has a fifty day moving average of $60.69 and a 200 day moving average of $56.86. Hexcel Corporation has a one year low of $45.28 and a one year high of $71.05.

Hexcel (NYSE:HXL - Get Free Report) last announced 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. Hexcel had a return on equity of 9.76% and a net margin of 4.69%.The firm had revenue of $489.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $482.20 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.60 EPS. The business'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. Analysts expect that Hexcel Corporation will post 2.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hexcel Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 (DPR) is 62.96%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Thierry Merlot sold 8,897 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.86, for a total transaction of $568,162.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Gina Fitzsimons sold 911 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.00, for a total value of $59,215.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 4,283 shares in the company, valued at approximately $278,395. This represents a 17.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.39% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Hexcel from $52.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $70.00 target price (up previously from $65.00) on shares of Hexcel in a research report on Monday, July 28th. UBS Group raised Hexcel from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $65.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Hexcel from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price 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.