The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Acquires 85,877 Shares of Hexcel Corporation $HXL

Key Points

• The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake in Hexcel Corporation by 12.7% during the first quarter, owning approximately 0.95% of the company, worth around $41.77 million.
• Hexcel reported $0.50 earnings per share for the recent quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations, with revenue of $489.9 million but showing a 2.1% decline year-over-year.
• The company has set its FY 2025 earnings guidance at 1.850-2.050 EPS, with analysts expecting a 2.14 EPS for the current year.

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its position in Hexcel Corporation (NYSE:HXL - Free Report) by 12.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 762,762 shares of the aerospace company's stock after acquiring an additional 85,877 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned 0.95% of Hexcel worth $41,769,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in HXL. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC bought a new position in Hexcel in the fourth quarter valued at about $255,000. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in Hexcel by 15.3% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,031,027 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $64,645,000 after acquiring an additional 136,871 shares during the last quarter. Comerica Bank boosted its holdings in Hexcel by 66.6% in the fourth quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 63,316 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $3,970,000 after acquiring an additional 25,314 shares during the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV boosted its holdings in Hexcel by 67.9% during the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 5,940 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $372,000 after buying an additional 2,402 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in Hexcel by 14.6% during the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 145,581 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $9,128,000 after buying an additional 18,545 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.47% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HXL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $70.00 target price (up previously from $65.00) on shares of Hexcel in a report on Monday, July 28th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Hexcel from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. UBS Group upgraded Hexcel from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $65.00 to $80.00 in a report on Tuesday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Hexcel from $52.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $65.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Hexcel Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of NYSE HXL traded up $0.27 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $64.15. 691,435 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,162,476. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 59.39, a PEG ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a current ratio of 2.69, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $60.69 and a 200 day simple moving average of $56.86. Hexcel Corporation has a twelve month low of $45.28 and a twelve month high of $71.05.

Hexcel (NYSE:HXL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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. The company had revenue of $489.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $482.20 million. Hexcel had a return on equity of 9.76% and a net margin of 4.69%.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 earnings per share. Hexcel has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.850-2.050 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Hexcel Corporation will post 2.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hexcel Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 8th were given a $0.17 dividend. 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.