California Public Employees Retirement System Has $11.63 Million Stake in Hexcel Co. (NYSE:HXL)

California Public Employees Retirement System trimmed its stake in Hexcel Co. (NYSE:HXL) by 3.5% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 157,735 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 5,712 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Hexcel were worth $11,633,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Cetera Trust Company N.A bought a new position in shares of Hexcel in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. CENTRAL TRUST Co raised its stake in shares of Hexcel by 68.1% in the 3rd quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 442 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 179 shares in the last quarter. RiverPark Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Hexcel in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Bleakley Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Hexcel in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $201,000. Finally, Simplicity Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Hexcel in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $201,000. 95.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Hexcel Stock Performance

HXL opened at $66.31 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $70.08 and its 200-day simple moving average is $69.40. The company has a current ratio of 2.74, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The stock has a market cap of $5.51 billion, a PE ratio of 56.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.23. Hexcel Co. has a 1 year low of $58.81 and a 1 year high of $79.08.

Hexcel (NYSE:HXL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The aerospace company reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.44. The business had revenue of $472.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $468.93 million. Hexcel had a return on equity of 8.97% and a net margin of 5.52%. Hexcel’s quarterly revenue was up 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.50 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Hexcel Co. will post 2.22 EPS for the current year.

Hexcel Dividend Announcement

The business 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. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.90%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 2nd. Hexcel’s dividend payout ratio is 51.28%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on HXL shares. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Hexcel from $69.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. UBS Group dropped their price target on Hexcel from $77.00 to $73.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Barclays dropped their price target 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 dropped 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $80.00 price target on shares of Hexcel in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $76.57.

Insider Activity at Hexcel

In related news, 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $243,337.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Hexcel news, 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 transaction, the insider now owns 3,375 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $243,337.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell acquired 10,000 shares of Hexcel stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 25th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $64.13 per share, for a total transaction of $641,300.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 17,803 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,141,706.39. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have purchased a total of 28,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,799,240 in the last 90 days. 1.85% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.