DAVENPORT & Co LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Hexcel Corporation $HXL

Key Points

• DAVENPORT & Co LLC increased its holdings in Hexcel Corporation by 1.2%, owning approximately 0.67% of the company, worth about $30.83 million after acquiring additional shares.
• Insider Thierry Merlot sold 8,897 shares of Hexcel stock for over $568,000, resulting in a significant decrease of 14.78% in his ownership.
• Hexcel recently reported earnings of $0.50 per share, beating estimates and revealing a revenue of $489.90 million, though down 2.1% year-over-year.

DAVENPORT & Co LLC increased its position in Hexcel Corporation (NYSE:HXL - Free Report) by 1.2% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 541,899 shares of the aerospace company's stock after acquiring an additional 6,167 shares during the period. DAVENPORT & Co LLC owned about 0.67% of Hexcel worth $30,834,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised 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 purchasing an additional 492 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position 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 buying an additional 937 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its stake in Hexcel by 32.4% during the 1st 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. boosted its holdings 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 valued at $44,760,000 after acquiring an additional 22,396 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Hexcel by 95.3% in the first 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 during the period. 95.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Thierry Merlot sold 8,897 shares of Hexcel 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 sale, the insider owned 51,308 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,276,528.88. This trade represents a 14.78% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Gina Fitzsimons sold 911 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.00, for a total value of $59,215.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly 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. Corporate insiders own 2.03% of the company's stock.

Hexcel Trading Up 2.1%

Shares of NYSE:HXL opened at $66.04 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $62.44 and a 200 day moving average of $57.29. The company has a market cap of $5.25 billion, a PE ratio of 61.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.33. Hexcel Corporation has a 12-month low of $45.28 and a 12-month 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 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 business had revenue of $489.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $482.20 million. Hexcel had a net margin of 4.69% and a return on equity of 9.76%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.60 earnings per share. Hexcel has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.850-2.050 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Hexcel Corporation will post 2.14 EPS for the current year.

Hexcel Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 8th were issued a $0.17 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 8th. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. Hexcel's dividend payout ratio is currently 62.96%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Hexcel from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Hexcel from $52.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Zacks Research upgraded Hexcel from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 4th. UBS Group raised Hexcel from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the company from $65.00 to $80.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Hexcel in a research note on Saturday, September 27th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $65.00.

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.

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