Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Invests $1.74 Million in Hexcel Co. (NYSE:HXL)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new position in Hexcel Co. (NYSE:HXL - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 23,600 shares of the aerospace company's stock, valued at approximately $1,740,000.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. BlackRock Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Hexcel by 1.2% during the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 9,171,181 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $625,933,000 after purchasing an additional 112,122 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its stake in shares of Hexcel by 838.6% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 6,810,199 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $400,780,000 after purchasing an additional 6,084,592 shares during the period. Earnest Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Hexcel by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 4,344,230 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $282,983,000 after purchasing an additional 47,591 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Hexcel by 11.2% in the 1st quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,409,631 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $202,771,000 after purchasing an additional 344,711 shares during the period. Finally, Eaton Vance Management boosted its holdings in shares of Hexcel by 4.4% in the first quarter. Eaton Vance Management now owns 2,476,907 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $147,301,000 after buying an additional 103,891 shares during the last quarter. 95.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Hexcel

In other Hexcel news, insider Gina Fitzsimons sold 864 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 3,375 shares in the company, valued at approximately $243,337.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, insider Gina Fitzsimons sold 864 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the insider now owns 3,375 shares of the company's stock, valued at $243,337.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing 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 dated Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.63, for a total value of $322,335.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 50,371 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,608,074.73. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.39% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HXL has been the topic of several recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $80.00 price target on shares of Hexcel in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Bank of America reissued an "underperform" rating and set a $65.00 price target (down previously from $75.00) on shares of Hexcel in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Hexcel from $69.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Hexcel from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their target price on shares of Hexcel from $96.00 to $90.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $76.50.

Hexcel Price Performance

Hexcel stock traded up $0.31 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $61.71. 1,082,345 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 868,005. The company has a quick ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 2.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. Hexcel Co. has a 12-month low of $58.81 and a 12-month high of $79.08. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $71.60 and a two-hundred day moving average of $69.54. The company has a market cap of $5.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.14, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.23.

Hexcel (NYSE:HXL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 25th. The aerospace company reported $0.43 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.49 by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $457.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $474.01 million. Hexcel had a return on equity of 9.31% and a net margin of 5.91%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.40 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Hexcel Co. will post 2.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Hexcel Increases Dividend

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

Hexcel 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.