Hexcel (NYSE:HXL) Earns "Outperform" Rating from Royal Bank Of Canada

Key Points

• Hexcel's stock price target has been raised from $65 to $70 by Royal Bank Of Canada, indicating a potential upside of 12.05% from the current price.
• Despite the positive outlook from some analysts, other brokerages have downgraded their ratings, with Barclays and Wall Street Zen lowering their price targets to $68 and a "hold" rating, respectively.
• Hexcel reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $0.50, beating estimates, but experienced a 2.1% decline in revenue year-over-year.

Hexcel (NYSE:HXL - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "outperform" rating reiterated by Royal Bank Of Canada in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. They currently have a $70.00 price target on the aerospace company's stock, up from their prior price target of $65.00. Royal Bank Of Canada's price target would suggest a potential upside of 13.29% from the stock's current price.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on HXL. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Hexcel from $53.00 to $51.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on shares of Hexcel from $72.00 to $52.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price 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. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Hexcel from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, April 27th. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their target price on shares of Hexcel from $73.00 to $67.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $61.67.

Hexcel Price Performance

Shares of HXL traded up $0.68 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $61.79. The stock had a trading volume of 1,521,692 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,117,293. The company's fifty day moving average is $56.54 and its two-hundred day moving average is $57.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 2.69 and a quick ratio of 1.50. Hexcel has a 52 week low of $45.28 and a 52 week high of $71.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 1.28.

Hexcel (NYSE:HXL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The aerospace company reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.04. Hexcel had a net margin of 4.69% and a return on equity of 9.76%. The firm had revenue of $489.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $482.20 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.60 EPS. The company's revenue was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Hexcel will post 2.14 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Hexcel

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in HXL. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in shares of Hexcel by 4,372.3% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,502,676 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $156,919,000 after purchasing an additional 2,446,716 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Hexcel in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $60,241,000. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Hexcel by 416.9% in the first quarter. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC now owns 1,166,489 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $63,877,000 after purchasing an additional 940,839 shares during the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Hexcel in the second quarter valued at approximately $48,694,000. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in shares of Hexcel by 24.7% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,996,363 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $125,172,000 after purchasing an additional 395,744 shares during the last quarter. 95.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.