Hexcel (NYSE:HXL) Sees Strong Trading Volume After Dividend Announcement

Shares of Hexcel Co. (NYSE:HXL) saw an uptick in trading volume on Tuesday after the company announced a dividend. 1,134,542 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 29% from the previous session’s volume of 876,221 shares.The stock last traded at $63.83 and had previously closed at $62.52.

The newly announced 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 yield of 0.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 2nd. Hexcel’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.39%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on HXL. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Hexcel from $69.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. StockNews.com cut shares of Hexcel from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley cut shares of Hexcel from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $70.00 to $66.00 in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Hexcel from $80.00 to $75.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. Finally, Northcoast Research lowered shares of Hexcel from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Two equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $76.50.

Hexcel Stock Performance

The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $71.02 and its 200 day moving average price is $69.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 2.74 and a quick ratio of 1.68. The firm has a market cap of $5.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.23.

Hexcel (NYSE:HXL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 22nd. The aerospace company reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.44. Hexcel had a net margin of 5.91% and a return on equity of 9.31%. The firm had revenue of $472.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $468.93 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.50 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Hexcel Co. will post 2.22 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hexcel news, insider Thierry Merlot sold 4,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 50,371 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,608,074.73. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Hexcel news, insider Gina Fitzsimons sold 864 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 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 SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Thierry Merlot sold 4,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 50,371 shares in the company, valued at $3,608,074.73. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.85% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hexcel

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Hexcel by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,846,871 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $578,707,000 after acquiring an additional 27,850 shares in the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Hexcel by 1.1% in the third quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 4,344,230 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $282,983,000 after acquiring an additional 47,591 shares during the last quarter. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Hexcel by 93.0% in the fourth quarter. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC now owns 1,503,055 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $110,850,000 after acquiring an additional 724,280 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in shares of Hexcel by 143.6% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,466,380 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $108,146,000 after acquiring an additional 864,405 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Westfield Capital Management Co. LP lifted its holdings in shares of Hexcel by 18.8% in the third quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 1,462,293 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $95,254,000 after acquiring an additional 231,207 shares during the last quarter. 95.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.