AXQ Capital LP Reduces Position in Hexcel Corporation $HXL

AXQ Capital LP lessened its holdings in shares of Hexcel Corporation (NYSE:HXL) by 66.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,557 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 10,889 shares during the quarter. AXQ Capital LP’s holdings in Hexcel were worth $348,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. New York State Common Retirement Fund increased its holdings in shares of Hexcel by 25.8% in the third quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 421,980 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $26,458,000 after purchasing an additional 86,625 shares during the period. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH boosted its stake in Hexcel by 12.6% during the third quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH now owns 403,881 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $25,323,000 after buying an additional 45,061 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D grew its position in Hexcel by 16.7% during the second quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 36,171 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,043,000 after buying an additional 5,179 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its stake in Hexcel by 7.3% in the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 126,794 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $7,950,000 after acquiring an additional 8,661 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Madison Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hexcel in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,410,000. Institutional investors own 95.47% of the company’s stock.

Hexcel Stock Performance

NYSE:HXL opened at $92.81 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 2.26. Hexcel Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $45.28 and a fifty-two week high of $94.46. The firm has a market cap of $7.04 billion, a PE ratio of 67.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.06. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $82.29 and a 200-day moving average price of $72.41.

Hexcel (NYSE:HXL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The aerospace company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $491.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $484.46 million. Hexcel had a net margin of 5.78% and a return on equity of 9.54%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.52 EPS. Hexcel has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.100-2.300 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Hexcel Corporation 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 Tuesday, February 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 9th were paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. This is a boost from Hexcel’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 9th. Hexcel’s payout ratio is presently 52.17%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on HXL. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Hexcel from $75.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, February 1st. Truist Financial set a $94.00 price target on shares of Hexcel in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Hexcel from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Hexcel from $92.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Hexcel from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $67.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $82.17.

About Hexcel

Hexcel Corporation is a global leader in advanced composite materials for aerospace and industrial applications. The company specializes in the development and manufacture of lightweight, high-performance products that enhance fuel efficiency, durability and structural strength. Its offerings are critical to the aerospace sector, where demand for lighter, more efficient aircraft drives continuous innovation in materials.

Hexcel’s product portfolio encompasses carbon fiber reinforcements, pre-impregnated composites (prepregs), honeycomb core, engineered adhesives and structural film adhesives.