Gabelli Funds LLC Buys 24,000 Shares of Hexcel Corporation $HXL

Key Points

• Gabelli Funds LLC increased its stake in Hexcel by 43.5% in the third quarter, buying 24,000 shares to hold 79,230 shares (about 0.10% of the company) valued at $4,968,000.
• Multiple analysts have recently upgraded Hexcel and raised price targets (e.g., Morgan Stanley to "equal weight" with a $90 target; RBC to $95 and "outperform"; BofA to "neutral" with $95), yet the consensus remains a "Hold" with an average target of $82.17.
• Hexcel beat quarterly estimates (EPS $0.52 vs. $0.50; revenue $491.3M vs. $484.46M), set FY2026 guidance of $2.10–$2.30 EPS, and raised its quarterly dividend to $0.18 (annualized $0.72, yield 0.8%).

Gabelli Funds LLC grew its stake in shares of Hexcel Corporation (NYSE:HXL - Free Report) by 43.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 79,230 shares of the aerospace company's stock after acquiring an additional 24,000 shares during the period. Gabelli Funds LLC owned about 0.10% of Hexcel worth $4,968,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Royal Bank of Canada grew its stake in Hexcel by 12.6% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 119,501 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $6,544,000 after purchasing an additional 13,374 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its position in Hexcel by 7.9% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 6,360 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $348,000 after purchasing an additional 468 shares in the last quarter. Caxton Associates LLP bought a new stake in Hexcel during the 1st quarter valued at $234,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Hexcel by 14.5% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 274,522 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $15,033,000 after buying an additional 34,822 shares during the period. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Hexcel by 138.7% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 759 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 441 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.47% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HXL has been the topic of several research reports. Morgan Stanley upgraded Hexcel from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and raised their price target for the company from $67.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Friday, January 30th. UBS Group set a $99.00 price objective on shares of Hexcel in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on shares of Hexcel from $92.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Hexcel from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $60.00 to $95.00 in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and issued a $85.00 price target on shares of Hexcel in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $82.17.

Hexcel Trading Down 1.8%

Shares of NYSE HXL opened at $87.02 on Tuesday. Hexcel Corporation has a 1-year low of $45.28 and a 1-year high of $95.22. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $84.79 and a 200 day moving average price of $74.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 63.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 2.26 and a quick ratio of 1.25.

Hexcel (NYSE:HXL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The aerospace company reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $491.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $484.46 million. Hexcel had a return on equity of 9.54% and a net margin of 5.78%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.52 earnings per share. Hexcel has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.100-2.300 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Hexcel Corporation will post 2.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hexcel Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Investors of record on Monday, February 9th were paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. This is a boost from Hexcel's previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 9th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Hexcel's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.17%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Amy S. Evans sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.80, for a total transaction of $139,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 1,979 shares of the company's stock, valued at $183,651.20. This represents a 43.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 2.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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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