Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Increases Stock Holdings in Hexcel Co. (NYSE:HXL)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its position in Hexcel Co. (NYSE:HXL) by 7.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 18,507 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 1,308 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in Hexcel were worth $1,365,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. CENTRAL TRUST Co raised its stake in Hexcel by 68.1% in the third quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 442 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares in the last quarter. RiverPark Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Hexcel in the third quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI raised its stake in Hexcel by 110.2% in the third quarter. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI now owns 641 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 336 shares in the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Hexcel in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $201,000. Finally, Simplicity Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Hexcel in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $201,000. 95.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HXL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Hexcel from $69.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $80.00 target price on shares of Hexcel in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Northcoast Research downgraded shares of Hexcel from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Hexcel from $77.00 to $73.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Hexcel from $69.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $76.57.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hexcel

In other Hexcel news, insider Gina Fitzsimons sold 864 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $243,337.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Hexcel news, insider Gina Fitzsimons sold 864 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $243,337.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Thierry Merlot sold 4,500 shares of the company’s 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 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. Insiders own 1.39% of the company’s stock.

Hexcel Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE HXL opened at $64.13 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 2.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. Hexcel Co. has a 52 week low of $58.81 and a 52 week high of $79.08. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $70.41 and its 200 day moving average is $69.42. The company has a market cap of $5.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.81, a PEG ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.23.

Hexcel (NYSE:HXL) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The aerospace company reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.44. Hexcel had a net margin of 5.52% and a return on equity of 8.97%. The company had revenue of $472.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $468.93 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.50 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Hexcel Co. will post 2.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Hexcel Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.94%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 2nd. Hexcel’s payout ratio is currently 51.28%.

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.