Hexcel Co. Announces Quarterly Dividend of $0.15 (NYSE:HXL)

Hexcel Co. (NYSE:HXL - Get Free Report) declared a quarterly dividend on Monday, April 22nd, RTT News reports. Investors of record on Friday, May 3rd will be given a dividend of 0.15 per share by the aerospace company on Friday, May 10th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.96%.

Hexcel has raised its dividend payment by an average of 43.3% annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 2 years. Hexcel has a dividend payout ratio of 20.3% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Hexcel to earn $2.93 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.60 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 20.5%.

Hexcel Trading Up 1.3 %

Hexcel stock traded up $0.82 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $62.53. The stock had a trading volume of 1,339,673 shares, compared to its average volume of 874,130. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $71.17 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $69.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.20 billion, a PE ratio of 50.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.23. Hexcel has a 12 month low of $58.81 and a 12 month high of $79.08. The company has a current ratio of 2.74, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41.

Hexcel (NYSE:HXL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, April 22nd. The aerospace company reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.45 by ($0.01). Hexcel had a return on equity of 9.31% and a net margin of 5.91%. The company had revenue of $472.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $468.93 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.50 EPS. Hexcel's quarterly revenue was up 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Hexcel will post 2.22 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HXL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Hexcel from $90.00 to $86.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Morgan Stanley cut Hexcel from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $70.00 to $66.00 in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. Bank of America reiterated an "underperform" rating and set a $65.00 price objective (down previously from $75.00) on shares of Hexcel in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. UBS Group cut Hexcel from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their price objective for the company from $87.00 to $72.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. Finally, Northcoast Research cut Hexcel from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $76.50.

Insider Activity at Hexcel

In related news, insider Thierry Merlot sold 4,500 shares of Hexcel stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.63, for a total value of $322,335.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 50,371 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,608,074.73. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Hexcel news, insider Gina Fitzsimons sold 864 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.10, for a total transaction of $62,294.40. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 3,375 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $243,337.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Thierry Merlot sold 4,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.63, for a total value of $322,335.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 50,371 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,608,074.73. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.85% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.