Xponance Inc. Grows Position in Hexcel Co. (NYSE:HXL)

Xponance Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Hexcel Co. (NYSE:HXL) by 1.8% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 10,251 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 178 shares during the quarter. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in Hexcel were worth $756,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of HXL. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA purchased a new position in shares of Hexcel during the 3rd quarter worth $39,213,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Hexcel by 102.3% during the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 643,487 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $41,917,000 after acquiring an additional 325,369 shares during the period. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Hexcel by 46.7% during the 3rd quarter. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC now owns 778,775 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $50,729,000 after acquiring an additional 248,045 shares during the period. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP raised its position in Hexcel by 18.8% in the 3rd quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 1,462,293 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $95,254,000 after purchasing an additional 231,207 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Hexcel in the 3rd quarter valued at about $12,188,000. 95.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Hexcel Stock Up 1.5 %

Hexcel stock opened at $64.19 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 2.74 and a quick ratio of 1.68. Hexcel Co. has a 1-year low of $58.81 and a 1-year high of $79.08. The company has a market cap of $5.33 billion, a PE ratio of 54.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.23. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $70.61 and its 200 day moving average price is $69.44.

Hexcel (NYSE:HXL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 22nd. The aerospace company reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.44. Hexcel had a return on equity of 8.97% and a net margin of 5.52%. The firm 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 business earned $0.50 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Hexcel Co. will post 2.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hexcel Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Investors of record on Friday, May 3rd will be paid a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 2nd. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.93%. Hexcel’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.28%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on HXL. Barclays cut their target price on Hexcel from $80.00 to $75.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Hexcel from $90.00 to $86.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. StockNews.com lowered Hexcel from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 3rd. Bank of America reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and set a $65.00 price target (down previously from $75.00) on shares of Hexcel in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $80.00 price target on shares of Hexcel in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Hexcel currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $76.57.

Insider Activity at Hexcel

In related news, insider Thierry Merlot sold 4,500 shares of Hexcel stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.63, for a total value of $322,335.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 50,371 shares in the company, valued at $3,608,074.73. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Hexcel news, insider Thierry Merlot sold 4,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 9th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $3,608,074.73. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Gina Fitzsimons sold 864 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.10, for a total value of $62,294.40. Following the sale, the insider now owns 3,375 shares in the company, valued at $243,337.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.39% of the company’s stock.

About Hexcel

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.