First Trust Advisors LP Acquires 52,506 Shares of Hexcel Corporation $HXL

Key Points

• First Trust Advisors LP increased its Hexcel stake by 28.7% in the first quarter, acquiring 52,506 shares and bringing its holdings to 235,425 shares valued at approximately $19.1 million. Institutional investors collectively own 95.47% of Hexcel.
• Hexcel’s second-quarter results exceeded expectations, with adjusted EPS of $0.66 and revenue of $529.3 million, up 8% year over year. Commercial aerospace sales rose 18.3%, helping offset a 7.2% decline in Defense, Space & Other sales.
• Management raised 2026 adjusted EPS guidance to $2.30–$2.40 and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.18 per share. However, the stock trades near its 52-week high at roughly 69.5 times earnings, while analysts maintain a consensus “Hold” rating and a $94 average price target.

First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in Hexcel Corporation (NYSE:HXL - Free Report) by 28.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 235,425 shares of the aerospace company's stock after purchasing an additional 52,506 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP owned about 0.31% of Hexcel worth $19,053,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Hexcel by 13.5% in the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 12,366 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $1,001,000 after buying an additional 1,474 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Hexcel by 21.4% in the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,523 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $123,000 after purchasing an additional 268 shares in the last quarter. Swiss National Bank boosted its holdings in Hexcel by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 157,500 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $12,746,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System boosted its holdings in Hexcel by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 169,003 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $13,677,000 after purchasing an additional 3,596 shares during the period. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Hexcel by 2,580.8% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 173,073 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $14,008,000 after purchasing an additional 166,617 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.47% of the company's stock.

Trending Headlines about Hexcel

Here are the key news stories impacting Hexcel this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Second-quarter adjusted EPS was $0.66, above the $0.56–$0.57 analyst consensus and up from $0.50 a year earlier. Revenue increased 8.0% year over year to $529.3 million, narrowly exceeding expectations. Hexcel Q2 Earnings and Revenues Top Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Commercial Aerospace sales rose 18.3% to $346.6 million, while gross margin improved to 26.1% from 22.8%. Hexcel also reported stronger net income, operating cash flow of $96.7 million for the first six months, and $51.8 million in free cash flow. Hexcel Q2 Sales Rise 8% to $529 Million
• Positive Sentiment: Management raised 2026 adjusted EPS guidance to $2.30–$2.40, above the approximately $2.28 analyst consensus, signaling confidence in profitability. The board also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.18 per share, payable August 17.
• Neutral Sentiment: Defense, Space & Other sales declined 7.2% to $182.7 million, primarily because of the divestment of an Austrian industrial business. This weakness partly offset the commercial aerospace improvement.
• Negative Sentiment: Although EPS guidance is above consensus, the 2026 revenue outlook of approximately $2.025 billion–$2.125 billion has a midpoint near or below the roughly $2.1 billion consensus estimate. Investors may view this as limited top-line upside despite the earnings beat.
• Negative Sentiment: Hexcel’s shares trade near their 52-week high and at a price-to-earnings ratio near 70, leaving less room for execution disappointments. The strong results may therefore have prompted profit-taking as investors focused on forward revenue growth rather than the quarterly beat.

Hexcel Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:HXL opened at $105.64 on Thursday. The company's fifty day moving average price is $97.44 and its 200-day moving average price is $90.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 2.45 and a quick ratio of 1.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 69.50, a PEG ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.05. Hexcel Corporation has a one year low of $58.20 and a one year high of $111.74.

Hexcel (NYSE:HXL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The aerospace company reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.09. Hexcel had a net margin of 6.07% and a return on equity of 11.08%. The company had revenue of $529.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $528.08 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.50 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Hexcel has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.300-2.400 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Hexcel Corporation will post 2.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hexcel Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 10th will be given a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 10th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. Hexcel's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 47.37%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on HXL. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $105.00 price target on shares of Hexcel in a report on Friday, April 24th. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on Hexcel in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. They set an "overweight" rating and a $95.00 target price for the company. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Hexcel from $85.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "hold" rating and issued a $79.00 price target on shares of Hexcel in a report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Hexcel from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Hexcel currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $94.00.

About Hexcel

Hexcel Corporation is a global leader in advanced composite materials for aerospace and industrial applications. The company specializes in the development and manufacture of lightweight, high-performance products that enhance fuel efficiency, durability and structural strength. Its offerings are critical to the aerospace sector, where demand for lighter, more efficient aircraft drives continuous innovation in materials.

Hexcel's product portfolio encompasses carbon fiber reinforcements, pre-impregnated composites (prepregs), honeycomb core, engineered adhesives and structural film adhesives.

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