Next Century Growth Investors LLC Sells 106,192 Shares of Hexcel Corporation $HXL

Key Points

• Next Century Growth Investors LLC has significantly reduced its stake in Hexcel Corporation by 52.3%, selling 106,192 shares during the first quarter and now holding 96,904 shares valued at $5.3 million.
• Hexcel recently reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $0.50 for the last quarter, surpassing analysts' estimates, but its revenue was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year.
• The company has increased its annual dividend to $0.68 per share, representing a yield of 1.1%, with a payout ratio of 62.96%.

Next Century Growth Investors LLC decreased its position in shares of Hexcel Corporation (NYSE:HXL - Free Report) by 52.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 96,904 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 106,192 shares during the quarter. Next Century Growth Investors LLC owned 0.12% of Hexcel worth $5,306,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Eisler Capital Management Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Hexcel in the first quarter worth about $3,643,000. Comerica Bank increased its position in Hexcel by 34.4% during the 1st quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 85,127 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $4,662,000 after purchasing an additional 21,811 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC increased its position in Hexcel by 169.0% during the 1st quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 7,877 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $431,000 after purchasing an additional 4,949 shares during the period. Channing Capital Management LLC increased its position in Hexcel by 4.0% during the 1st quarter. Channing Capital Management LLC now owns 1,173,424 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $64,257,000 after purchasing an additional 44,743 shares during the period. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in Hexcel by 32.4% during the 1st 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 purchasing an additional 812,026 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 95.47% of the company's stock.

Hexcel Price Performance

HXL opened at $63.69 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 2.69 and a quick ratio of 1.50. The company has a market capitalization of $5.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 58.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.36. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $59.79 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $56.92. Hexcel Corporation has a 1 year low of $45.28 and a 1 year high of $71.05.

Hexcel (NYSE:HXL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The aerospace company reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.04. Hexcel had a return on equity of 9.76% and a net margin of 4.69%.The company had revenue of $489.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $482.20 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.60 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Hexcel has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.850-2.050 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Hexcel Corporation will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hexcel Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on HXL shares. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Hexcel from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $70.00 price objective (up previously from $65.00) on shares of Hexcel in a research report on Monday, July 28th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Hexcel from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $63.33.

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.

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