Hexcel (NYSE:HXL) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Hexcel (NYSE:HXL) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Wednesday.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Hexcel from $63.00 to $61.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Vertical Research lowered Hexcel from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $65.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Thursday, October 10th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Hexcel from $73.00 to $71.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 1st. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on shares of Hexcel from $71.00 to $70.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on shares of Hexcel from $65.00 to $62.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $71.62.

Hexcel Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of HXL opened at $62.53 on Wednesday. Hexcel has a 52-week low of $57.50 and a 52-week high of $77.09. The stock has a market cap of $5.06 billion, a PE ratio of 47.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.29. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $61.65 and its two-hundred day moving average is $64.21. The company has a quick ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 2.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51.

Hexcel (NYSE:HXL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The aerospace company reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.01. Hexcel had a net margin of 5.73% and a return on equity of 9.99%. The firm had revenue of $457.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $457.07 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.38 earnings per share. Hexcel’s quarterly revenue was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Hexcel will post 2.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hexcel Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.96%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 1st. Hexcel’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.80%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hexcel

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of HXL. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in Hexcel by 151.5% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 344,342 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $25,086,000 after acquiring an additional 207,434 shares during the period. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Hexcel by 32.2% during the first quarter. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC now owns 80,953 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $5,897,000 after purchasing an additional 19,736 shares in the last quarter. Seven Eight Capital LP purchased a new position in shares of Hexcel in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,109,000. Capital World Investors increased its stake in Hexcel by 16.4% during the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 885,547 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $64,512,000 after buying an additional 124,900 shares during the period. Finally, Sei Investments Co. lifted its holdings in Hexcel by 6.7% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 1,318,541 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $96,056,000 after buying an additional 82,473 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.47% of the company’s stock.

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.