Hexcel Corporation (NYSE:HXL) Receives Average Recommendation of "Hold" from Brokerages

Key Points

• Analysts give Hexcel a consensus rating of Hold from 15 analysts (1 sell, 10 hold, 3 buy, 1 strong buy) with an average 12‑month target price of $86.36.
• Hexcel beat Q results (EPS $0.52 vs. $0.50 est.; revenue $491.3M vs. $484.5M) and set FY2026 guidance of 2.10–2.30 EPS, roughly in line with analyst expectations (~2.14), while trading at a high P/E (~61.6).
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.18 (annualized $0.72, yield ~0.8%) and disclosed an insider sale (Amy S. Evans sold 1,500 shares), with institutional investors owning about 95.5% of shares.

Shares of Hexcel Corporation (NYSE:HXL - Get Free Report) have earned a consensus rating of "Hold" from the fifteen analysts that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $86.3636.

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America raised Hexcel from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $60.00 to $95.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on Hexcel from $92.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Hexcel from $67.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. BMO Capital Markets reissued a "market perform" rating and set a $85.00 target price on shares of Hexcel in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Hexcel in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd.

Hexcel Stock Up 1.0%

HXL opened at $85.00 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $85.13 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $77.52. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 2.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The company has a market cap of $6.41 billion, a PE ratio of 61.59, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.05. Hexcel has a 52 week low of $45.37 and a 52 week high of $95.22.

Hexcel (NYSE:HXL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The aerospace company reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.50 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $491.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $484.46 million. Hexcel had a return on equity of 9.54% and a net margin of 5.78%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.52 EPS. Hexcel has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.100-2.300 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Hexcel will post 2.14 EPS for the current year.

Hexcel Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 9th were paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. This is a positive change from Hexcel's previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 9th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Hexcel's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 52.17%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Amy S. Evans sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.80, for a total transaction of $139,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 1,979 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $183,651.20. This represents a 43.12% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.84% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hexcel

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. New York State Common Retirement Fund grew its holdings in shares of Hexcel by 25.8% in the 3rd quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 421,980 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $26,458,000 after acquiring an additional 86,625 shares during the period. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in shares of Hexcel by 124.0% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 347,156 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $21,767,000 after acquiring an additional 192,190 shares during the period. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH grew its holdings in shares of Hexcel by 12.6% in the 3rd quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH now owns 403,881 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $25,323,000 after acquiring an additional 45,061 shares during the period. Leeward Investments LLC MA grew its holdings in shares of Hexcel by 33.4% in the 3rd quarter. Leeward Investments LLC MA now owns 371,161 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $23,272,000 after acquiring an additional 92,892 shares during the period. Finally, Madison Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hexcel in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,410,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.47% of the company's stock.

About Hexcel

Hexcel Corporation is a global leader in advanced composite materials for aerospace and industrial applications. The company specializes in the development and manufacture of lightweight, high-performance products that enhance fuel efficiency, durability and structural strength. Its offerings are critical to the aerospace sector, where demand for lighter, more efficient aircraft drives continuous innovation in materials.

Hexcel's product portfolio encompasses carbon fiber reinforcements, pre-impregnated composites (prepregs), honeycomb core, engineered adhesives and structural film adhesives.

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