Natixis Advisors L.P. Boosts Position in Hexcel Co. (NYSE:HXL)

Natixis Advisors L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Hexcel Co. (NYSE:HXL - Free Report) by 10.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 171,756 shares of the aerospace company's stock after acquiring an additional 16,433 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors L.P. owned approximately 0.20% of Hexcel worth $12,667,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Hexcel during the fourth quarter worth $231,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Hexcel by 6.3% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,377,915 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $101,621,000 after purchasing an additional 81,389 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hexcel in the 4th quarter valued at about $53,000. Cetera Trust Company N.A bought a new stake in shares of Hexcel in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its position in shares of Hexcel by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 12,974 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $957,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the period. 95.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Hexcel

In other news, insider Thierry Merlot sold 4,500 shares of the company'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 owns 50,371 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,608,074.73. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, insider Gina Fitzsimons sold 864 shares of the company'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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,375 shares in the company, valued at $243,337.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Thierry Merlot sold 4,500 shares of Hexcel stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.63, for a total transaction of $322,335.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 50,371 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,608,074.73. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have purchased 43,400 shares of company stock worth $2,820,322. Insiders own 1.85% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on HXL shares. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Hexcel from $69.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Truist Financial reduced their target price on shares of Hexcel from $96.00 to $90.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 19th. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Hexcel from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and lowered their price target for the company from $70.00 to $66.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Hexcel from $80.00 to $75.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their target price on Hexcel from $77.00 to $73.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $77.57.

Hexcel Stock Performance

Shares of HXL traded up $1.47 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $72.65. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,458,133 shares, compared to its average volume of 965,841. The company has a current ratio of 2.74, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. Hexcel Co. has a 1-year low of $58.81 and a 1-year high of $79.08. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $69.53 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $69.52. The stock has a market cap of $6.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 62.09, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.25.

Hexcel (NYSE:HXL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The aerospace company reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.44. Hexcel had a return on equity of 8.97% and a net margin of 5.52%. The business had revenue of $472.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $468.93 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.50 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Hexcel Co. will post 2.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hexcel Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Investors of record on Friday, May 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 2nd. Hexcel's payout ratio is 51.28%.

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.