Hexcel (NYSE:HXL) Upgraded to Overweight by Wells Fargo & Company

Hexcel (NYSE:HXL) was upgraded by equities researchers at Wells Fargo & Company from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage presently has a $95.00 price objective on the aerospace company’s stock, up from their previous price objective of $81.00. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price target would indicate a potential upside of 29.62% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Hexcel from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 3rd. Northcoast Research downgraded Hexcel from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on shares of Hexcel from $71.00 to $70.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley downgraded Hexcel from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $70.00 to $66.00 in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Hexcel from $69.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Hexcel presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $77.57.

Hexcel Stock Up 0.9 %

HXL stock opened at $73.29 on Wednesday. Hexcel has a one year low of $58.81 and a one year high of $79.08. The firm has a market cap of $6.09 billion, a PE ratio of 62.64, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.25. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $69.51 and its 200-day moving average price is $69.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a current ratio of 2.74.

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

Insider Transactions at Hexcel

In other Hexcel news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell purchased 10,000 shares of Hexcel stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 25th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $64.13 per share, for a total transaction of $641,300.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 17,803 shares in the company, valued at $1,141,706.39. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Hexcel news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell acquired 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 25th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $64.13 per share, with a total value of $641,300.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 17,803 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,141,706.39. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Tom Gentile bought 15,000 shares of Hexcel stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $66.25 per share, with a total value of $993,750.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 15,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $993,750. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have acquired 43,400 shares of company stock worth $2,820,322. Insiders own 1.85% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Corient Private Wealth LLC increased its position in Hexcel by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 53,624 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $3,955,000 after buying an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. Xponance Inc. increased its position in Hexcel by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 10,251 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $756,000 after purchasing an additional 178 shares in the last quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co increased its position in Hexcel by 68.1% during the 3rd quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 442 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares in the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina raised its stake in Hexcel by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 37,007 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,411,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bleakley Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in Hexcel by 6.9% in the 1st quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 2,915 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $212,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. 95.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.