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

Key Points

• Hexcel Corporation has received a consensus rating of "Hold" from 11 brokerages, with one sell rating, seven holds, and three buy ratings, and an average price target of $66.63.
• Insider trading activities revealed that executives Thierry Merlot and Gina Fitzsimons sold shares, reducing their ownership by 14.78% and 17.54% respectively, indicating a potential shift in confidence in the company's stock.
• Hexcel reported earnings of $0.50 per share for its latest quarter, surpassing estimates and reflecting a revenue drop of 2.1% year-over-year, while also announcing a quarterly dividend of $0.17.

Shares of Hexcel Corporation (NYSE:HXL - Get Free Report) have been given an average recommendation of "Hold" by the eleven brokerages that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $66.6250.

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $70.00 price objective (up from $65.00) on shares of Hexcel in a report on Monday, July 28th. UBS Group raised shares of Hexcel from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $65.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 2nd. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Hexcel from $52.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Zacks Research upgraded Hexcel from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Hexcel in a report on Wednesday, October 8th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hexcel

In other Hexcel news, insider Thierry Merlot sold 8,897 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.86, for a total transaction of $568,162.42. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 51,308 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,276,528.88. This represents a 14.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Gina Fitzsimons sold 911 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.00, for a total transaction of $59,215.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 4,283 shares in the company, valued at approximately $278,395. The trade was a 17.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hexcel

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH bought a new stake in Hexcel in the second quarter valued at $26,000. NewSquare Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Hexcel by 379.0% in the 2nd quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 479 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 379 shares during the period. Park Place Capital Corp lifted its position in Hexcel by 65.1% in the 2nd quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 497 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 196 shares during the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in Hexcel in the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its stake in Hexcel by 325.0% during the 2nd quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 493 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 377 shares during the period. 95.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Hexcel Stock Performance

Shares of HXL opened at $64.20 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $5.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 59.45, a PEG ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a quick ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 2.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The business's 50 day moving average is $62.97 and its two-hundred day moving average is $57.87. Hexcel has a 52-week low of $45.28 and a 52-week 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 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $489.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $482.20 million. Hexcel had a net margin of 4.69% and a return on equity of 9.76%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.60 earnings per share. Hexcel has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.850-2.050 EPS. Analysts forecast that Hexcel will post 2.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hexcel Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 8th were issued 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 payout ratio is currently 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.

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