Morgan Stanley Cuts Hexcel (NYSE:HXL) Price Target to $50.00

Hexcel (NYSE:HXL) had its price target decreased by Morgan Stanley from $61.00 to $50.00 in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. Morgan Stanley currently has an underperform rating on the aerospace company’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on HXL. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Hexcel from $74.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Truist Financial reduced their target price on Hexcel from $85.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 28th. TD Cowen upgraded Hexcel to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Hexcel from $87.00 to $63.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Hexcel from $75.00 to $68.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $69.73.

Hexcel Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE HXL opened at $51.91 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $4.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a current ratio of 2.21. Hexcel has a 1 year low of $45.28 and a 1 year high of $73.58. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $58.55 and its 200 day moving average price is $61.36.

Hexcel (NYSE:HXL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The aerospace company reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.52. Hexcel had a return on equity of 10.66% and a net margin of 6.94%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Hexcel will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Hexcel Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th were given a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.31%. This is a positive change from Hexcel’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. Hexcel’s payout ratio is presently 42.77%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hexcel

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Barclays PLC increased its stake in shares of Hexcel by 32.1% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 70,023 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $4,330,000 after buying an additional 17,011 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its holdings in Hexcel by 11.7% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 77,493 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $4,791,000 after acquiring an additional 8,135 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Hexcel by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,084,860 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $68,021,000 after purchasing an additional 24,133 shares in the last quarter. Kopion Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Hexcel by 11.2% in the 4th quarter. Kopion Asset Management LLC now owns 97,960 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $6,142,000 after purchasing an additional 9,861 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Hexcel during the fourth quarter worth about $242,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.47% 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.