Hexcel Corporation (NYSE:HXL) Receives Consensus Rating of "Hold" from Analysts

Hexcel Corporation (NYSE:HXL - Get Free Report) has earned an average recommendation of "Hold" from the eleven ratings firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, seven have assigned a hold recommendation and three have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $61.20.

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on HXL shares. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on Hexcel from $72.00 to $52.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Hexcel from $53.00 to $51.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Hexcel from $70.00 to $62.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Hexcel from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, April 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased 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 note on Thursday, April 24th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hexcel

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in Hexcel by 4,372.3% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,502,676 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $156,919,000 after purchasing an additional 2,446,716 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Hexcel during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $60,241,000. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Hexcel by 416.9% during the 1st quarter. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC now owns 1,166,489 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $63,877,000 after buying an additional 940,839 shares during the period. Brandes Investment Partners LP raised its position in shares of Hexcel by 99.6% during the 4th quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP now owns 1,304,669 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $81,803,000 after buying an additional 651,062 shares during the period. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its position in Hexcel by 249.6% in the fourth quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 815,658 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $51,142,000 after purchasing an additional 582,353 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.47% of the company's stock.

Hexcel Trading Down 1.3%

HXL stock opened at $54.35 on Thursday. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $52.66 and its 200-day simple moving average is $58.57. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 2.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. Hexcel has a 52-week low of $45.28 and a 52-week high of $71.05. The firm has a market cap of $4.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.99, a PEG ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.29.

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). The business had revenue of $456.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $482.18 million. Hexcel had a return on equity of 10.36% and a net margin of 6.60%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.44 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Hexcel will post 2.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hexcel Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were paid a $0.17 dividend. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.25%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 2nd. Hexcel's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.03%.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.