Millennium Management LLC Boosts Stock Position in Hexcel Corporation $HXL

Key Points

• Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in Hexcel Corporation by 19.9%, owning 688,593 shares valued at approximately $37.71 million as of the last quarter.
• Hexcel recently recorded a quarterly EPS of $0.50, which exceeded analysts' expectations, and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.17 per share, reflecting an annual yield of 1.1%.
• Following recent analyst reviews, Hexcel has seen its stock price target shifted, with UBS Group raising it from $65.00 to $80.00 and several analysts giving it a consensus rating of "Hold".

Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Hexcel Corporation (NYSE:HXL - Free Report) by 19.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 688,593 shares of the aerospace company's stock after purchasing an additional 114,212 shares during the quarter. Millennium Management LLC owned 0.86% of Hexcel worth $37,707,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Hexcel by 416.9% in the first quarter. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC now owns 1,166,489 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $63,877,000 after buying an additional 940,839 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in shares of Hexcel by 32.4% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 3,314,702 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $181,514,000 after buying an additional 812,026 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC increased its stake in shares of Hexcel by 10,767.3% in the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 392,091 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $21,471,000 after buying an additional 388,483 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hexcel in the first quarter valued at approximately $13,929,000. Finally, Citigroup Inc. increased its stake in shares of Hexcel by 214.3% in the first quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 359,067 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $19,663,000 after buying an additional 244,828 shares during the period. 95.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Hexcel Trading Down 1.0%

Shares of HXL stock traded down $0.62 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $61.97. 666,754 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 801,659. The firm has a market cap of $4.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 57.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.38. Hexcel Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $45.28 and a fifty-two week high of $71.05. 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 company has a 50 day simple moving average of $61.55 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $56.82.

Hexcel (NYSE:HXL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The aerospace company reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $489.90 million during 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%. Hexcel's revenue was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.60 EPS. Hexcel has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.850-2.050 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Hexcel Corporation will post 2.14 EPS for the current year.

Hexcel Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 8th were paid 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 was Friday, August 8th. Hexcel's payout ratio is 62.96%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HXL has been the subject of several recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Hexcel from $52.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. UBS Group raised shares of 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 research report on Tuesday, September 2nd. Morgan Stanley increased their target price 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. Zacks Research raised shares of Hexcel from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 4th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reissued 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. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $65.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hexcel news, insider Thierry Merlot sold 8,897 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.86, for a total transaction of $568,162.42. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 51,308 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,276,528.88. The trade was a 14.78% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Gina Fitzsimons sold 911 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider owned 4,283 shares of the company's stock, valued at $278,395. This trade represents a 17.54% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.39% of the company's stock.

Hexcel 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.