Hexcel Co. (NYSE:HXL) Given Consensus Rating of "Hold" by Analysts

Hexcel Co. (NYSE:HXL - Get Free Report) has received a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from the fourteen ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, seven have given a hold recommendation and five have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $76.50.

HXL has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on Hexcel from $96.00 to $90.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Hexcel from $90.00 to $86.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Barclays dropped their price objective on Hexcel from $80.00 to $75.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. Bank of America restated an "underperform" rating and set a $65.00 target price (down previously from $75.00) on shares of Hexcel in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Hexcel from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st.

Hexcel Stock Performance

Shares of HXL stock traded up $0.31 during trading on Friday, hitting $61.71. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,082,356 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,101,603. The company has a market cap of $5.13 billion, a PE ratio of 49.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a current ratio of 2.74, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The business has a fifty day moving average of $71.37 and a 200-day moving average of $69.55. Hexcel has a 52 week low of $58.81 and a 52 week high of $79.08.

Hexcel (NYSE:HXL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The aerospace company reported $0.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.49 by ($0.06). The business had revenue of $457.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $474.01 million. Hexcel had a net margin of 5.91% and a return on equity of 9.31%. The business's revenue was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.40 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Hexcel will post 2.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Hexcel Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 9th were issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. This is a positive change from Hexcel's previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 8th. Hexcel's dividend payout ratio is currently 48.39%.

Insider Transactions at Hexcel

In other Hexcel news, insider Gina Fitzsimons sold 864 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.10, for a total value of $62,294.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,375 shares in the company, valued at $243,337.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Hexcel news, insider Gina Fitzsimons sold 864 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.10, for a total value of $62,294.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,375 shares in the company, valued at $243,337.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Thierry Merlot sold 4,500 shares of Hexcel stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.63, for a total transaction of $322,335.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 50,371 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,608,074.73. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.39% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hexcel

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cetera Trust Company N.A bought a new stake in shares of Hexcel during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Hexcel during the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. CENTRAL TRUST Co increased its position in shares of Hexcel by 68.1% during the third quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 442 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 179 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning bought a new stake in shares of Hexcel during the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, RiverPark Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hexcel during the third quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Institutional investors own 95.47% of the company's stock.

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.