Millennium Management LLC Reduces Stake in Hexcel Co. (NYSE:HXL)

Millennium Management LLC cut its holdings in shares of Hexcel Co. (NYSE:HXL - Free Report) by 15.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 574,381 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 107,770 shares during the quarter. Millennium Management LLC owned about 0.71% of Hexcel worth $36,014,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of HXL. Earnest Partners LLC lifted its position in Hexcel by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 4,816,442 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $301,991,000 after buying an additional 37,442 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in shares of Hexcel by 4,372.3% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,502,676 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $156,919,000 after acquiring an additional 2,446,716 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in shares of Hexcel by 24.7% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,996,363 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $125,172,000 after acquiring an additional 395,744 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. boosted its position in shares of Hexcel by 9.0% during the 4th quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 1,482,249 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $92,938,000 after purchasing an additional 122,281 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Hexcel by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,437,058 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $90,104,000 after purchasing an additional 24,393 shares during the period. 95.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HXL has been the topic of a number of research reports. UBS Group decreased their price target on Hexcel from $53.00 to $51.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. TD Cowen raised Hexcel to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, February 24th. StockNews.com cut Hexcel from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, April 27th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Hexcel from $61.00 to $50.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Hexcel from $55.00 to $53.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Hexcel currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $61.20.

Hexcel Stock Down 3.2%

Shares of HXL traded down $1.72 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $51.95. The company had a trading volume of 676,023 shares, compared to its average volume of 963,628. Hexcel Co. has a 1 year low of $45.28 and a 1 year high of $71.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a current ratio of 2.21. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $52.77 and its 200-day simple moving average is $59.53.

Hexcel (NYSE:HXL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 21st. The aerospace company reported $0.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.43 by ($0.06). Hexcel had a return on equity of 10.66% and a net margin of 6.94%. The firm had revenue of $456.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $482.18 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.44 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Hexcel Co. will post 2.14 EPS for the current year.

Hexcel Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were given a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 2nd. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.31%. Hexcel's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 45.03%.

About Hexcel

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.