Hexcel (HXL) Competitors

Hexcel (NYSE:HXL) and Air Lease (NYSE:AL) are related mid-cap companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their media sentiment, profitability, dividends, institutional ownership, earnings, analyst recommendations, valuation and risk.

Is HXL or AL a better dividend stock?

Hexcel pays an annual dividend of $0.68 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.1%. Air Lease pays an annual dividend of $0.88 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.6%. Hexcel pays out 63.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Air Lease pays out 15.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Hexcel has raised its dividend for 3 consecutive years and Air Lease has raised its dividend for 13 consecutive years. Air Lease is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Is HXL or AL more profitable?

Air Lease has a net margin of 24.77% compared to Hexcel's net margin of 4.69%. Hexcel's return on equity of 9.76% beat Air Lease's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Hexcel	4.69%	9.76%	5.40%
Air Lease	24.77%	8.04%	1.91%

Do institutionals and insiders hold more shares of HXL or AL?

95.5% of Hexcel shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 94.6% of Air Lease shares are owned by institutional investors. 2.0% of Hexcel shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 6.6% of Air Lease shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Which has preferable earnings and valuation, HXL or AL?

Air Lease has higher revenue and earnings than Hexcel. Air Lease is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Hexcel, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Hexcel	$1.90B	2.54	$132.10M	$1.08	56.33
Air Lease	$2.81B	2.18	$427.70M	$5.72	9.58

Does the media prefer HXL or AL?

In the previous week, Air Lease had 3 more articles in the media than Hexcel. MarketBeat recorded 13 mentions for Air Lease and 10 mentions for Hexcel. Hexcel's average media sentiment score of 0.95 beat Air Lease's score of 0.94 indicating that Hexcel is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Hexcel	6 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	3 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Air Lease	4 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	6 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Do analysts recommend HXL or AL?

Hexcel currently has a consensus target price of $63.33, indicating a potential upside of 4.11%. Air Lease has a consensus target price of $59.50, indicating a potential upside of 8.62%. Given Air Lease's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Air Lease is more favorable than Hexcel.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Hexcel	1 Sell rating(s)	7 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.10
Air Lease	1 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	4 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.60

Which has more risk & volatility, HXL or AL?

Hexcel has a beta of 1.36, meaning that its share price is 36% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Air Lease has a beta of 1.41, meaning that its share price is 41% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Air Lease beats Hexcel on 13 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.