Strs Ohio Sells 4,138 Shares of Hexcel Co. (NYSE:HXL)

Strs Ohio lessened its position in Hexcel Co. (NYSE:HXL) by 20.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,431 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 4,138 shares during the period. Strs Ohio’s holdings in Hexcel were worth $1,211,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hexcel in the 4th quarter worth about $2,362,000. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Hexcel by 16.4% in the 4th quarter. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC now owns 217,202 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $16,019,000 after purchasing an additional 30,652 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors L.P. lifted its position in shares of Hexcel by 6.3% in the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 155,323 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $10,118,000 after purchasing an additional 9,242 shares during the period. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Hexcel in the 3rd quarter worth about $1,283,000. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio lifted its position in shares of Hexcel by 73.5% in the 3rd quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 66,141 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $4,308,000 after purchasing an additional 28,010 shares during the period. 95.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Hexcel Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of Hexcel stock opened at $62.53 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a current ratio of 2.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.20 billion, a PE ratio of 50.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.23. Hexcel Co. has a 52-week low of $58.81 and a 52-week high of $79.08. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $71.17 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $69.55.

Hexcel (NYSE:HXL) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The aerospace company reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.45 by ($0.01). Hexcel had a return on equity of 9.31% and a net margin of 5.91%. The firm had revenue of $472.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $468.93 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.50 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Hexcel Co. will post 2.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hexcel Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 3rd will be paid a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.96%. Hexcel’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.39%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Hexcel from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set 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 from $75.00) on shares of Hexcel in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Morgan Stanley cut 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 report on Thursday, February 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Hexcel from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Two 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. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $76.50.

Insider Transactions at Hexcel

In other news, insider Gina Fitzsimons sold 864 shares of Hexcel 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 3,375 shares in the company, valued at $243,337.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Gina Fitzsimons sold 864 shares of Hexcel 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 3,375 shares in the company, valued at $243,337.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Thierry Merlot sold 4,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.63, for a total transaction of $322,335.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 50,371 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,608,074.73. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.85% of the company’s stock.

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.