Hexcel Corporation $HXL Shares Acquired by Kopion Asset Management LLC

Key Points

• Kopion Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Hexcel Corporation by 17.7%, acquiring an additional 15,597 shares, which now represent 4.0% of its portfolio.
• Insiders at Hexcel sold shares recently, with Gina Fitzsimons and Thierry Merlot decreasing their ownership by 17.54% and 14.78%, respectively.
• Hexcel's stock has seen a 1.0% decrease recently, with a market capitalization of $4.93 billion, and the company is projecting earnings between 1.850-2.050 EPS for FY 2025.

Kopion Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Hexcel Corporation (NYSE:HXL - Free Report) by 17.7% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 103,776 shares of the aerospace company's stock after buying an additional 15,597 shares during the quarter. Hexcel comprises about 4.0% of Kopion Asset Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest position. Kopion Asset Management LLC owned about 0.13% of Hexcel worth $5,862,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of HXL. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its holdings in Hexcel by 14.6% in the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 145,581 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $9,128,000 after acquiring an additional 18,545 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its holdings in Hexcel by 7.7% in the 4th quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 19,961 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $1,252,000 after acquiring an additional 1,426 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG raised its holdings in Hexcel by 1,057.9% in the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 58,591 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $3,674,000 after acquiring an additional 53,531 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth raised its holdings in Hexcel by 17.9% in the 4th quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 9,463 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $593,000 after acquiring an additional 1,437 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hexcel in the 4th quarter valued at $146,000. 95.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Gina Fitzsimons sold 911 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.00, for a total transaction of $59,215.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 4,283 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $278,395. This trade represents a 17.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Thierry Merlot sold 8,897 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.86, for a total value of $568,162.42. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 51,308 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,276,528.88. This represents a 14.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.39% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on HXL. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Hexcel from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. UBS Group upgraded 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 report on Tuesday, September 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $70.00 target price (up previously from $65.00) on shares of Hexcel in a report on Monday, July 28th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Hexcel from $52.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Hexcel from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 4th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Hexcel currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $65.00.

Hexcel Stock Down 1.3%

Shares of NYSE HXL traded down $0.81 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $61.70. 329,383 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,138,499. Hexcel Corporation has a 52-week low of $45.28 and a 52-week high of $71.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.91 billion, a PE ratio of 57.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a current ratio of 2.69. The business's fifty day moving average price is $61.86 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $56.82.

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

Hexcel Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 8th were given a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 8th. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Hexcel's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.96%.

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.