Trexquant Investment LP Raises Holdings in Hexcel Corporation $HXL

Key Points

• Trexquant Investment LP increased its stake in Hexcel Corporation by 314.3% during the 1st quarter, acquiring a total of 52,577 shares worth approximately $2.88 million.
• Hexcel's stock reported earnings of $0.50 per share for the last quarter, surpassing analyst expectations of $0.46, despite a 2.1% decrease in quarterly revenue compared to the previous year.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.17 per share, with an annualized dividend yield of 1.1% and a payout ratio of 62.96%.

Trexquant Investment LP increased its stake in shares of Hexcel Corporation (NYSE:HXL - Free Report) by 314.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 52,577 shares of the aerospace company's stock after purchasing an additional 39,886 shares during the quarter. Trexquant Investment LP owned 0.07% of Hexcel worth $2,879,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in Hexcel by 15.3% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,031,027 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $64,645,000 after acquiring an additional 136,871 shares in the last quarter. Comerica Bank grew its stake in Hexcel by 66.6% during the 4th quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 63,316 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $3,970,000 after buying an additional 25,314 shares during the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV boosted its position in Hexcel by 67.9% during the 4th quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 5,940 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $372,000 after acquiring an additional 2,402 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position in Hexcel by 14.6% during the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 145,581 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $9,128,000 after acquiring an additional 18,545 shares during the period. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its holdings in shares of Hexcel by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 67,474 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $4,231,000 after buying an additional 3,618 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.47% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Thierry Merlot sold 8,897 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the insider directly 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Gina Fitzsimons sold 911 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.00, for a total value of $59,215.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 4,283 shares in the company, valued at approximately $278,395. The trade was a 17.54% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.03% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on HXL shares. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Hexcel from $52.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. UBS Group upgraded Hexcel from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $65.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 2nd. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Hexcel from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Zacks Research upgraded Hexcel from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, 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 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 given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Hexcel currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $65.00.

Hexcel Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of HXL stock traded down $0.49 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $64.39. The company's stock had a trading volume of 390,050 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,155,229. Hexcel Corporation has a 52 week low of $45.28 and a 52 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's fifty day simple moving average is $60.99 and its 200-day simple moving average is $56.73. The company has a market cap of $5.12 billion, a PE ratio of 59.65, a P/E/G ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 1.38.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.04. Hexcel had a return on equity of 9.76% and a net margin of 4.69%.The firm had revenue of $489.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $482.20 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.60 EPS. The company's 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. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Hexcel Corporation will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hexcel Announces Dividend

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

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.