Investors Buy High Volume of Call Options on Hexcel (NYSE:HXL)

Hexcel Corporation (NYSE:HXL) saw unusually large options trading activity on Tuesday. Investors acquired 5,252 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 1,633% compared to the average volume of 303 call options.

Insider Transactions at Hexcel

In related news, insider Amy S. Evans sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.80, for a total transaction of $139,200.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 1,979 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $183,651.20. This represents a 43.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 2.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hexcel

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Royal Bank of Canada increased its stake in Hexcel by 12.6% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 119,501 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $6,544,000 after purchasing an additional 13,374 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Hexcel by 7.9% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 6,360 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $348,000 after purchasing an additional 468 shares during the period. Caxton Associates LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Hexcel during the first quarter valued at $234,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its holdings in shares of Hexcel by 14.5% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 274,522 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $15,033,000 after purchasing an additional 34,822 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in Hexcel by 138.7% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 759 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 441 shares during the period. 95.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on HXL. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Hexcel from $75.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, February 1st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Hexcel in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Morgan Stanley raised Hexcel from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $67.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Friday, January 30th. UBS Group set a $99.00 price objective on Hexcel in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Truist Financial set a $94.00 target price on Hexcel in a report on Friday, January 30th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Hexcel currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $83.45.

Hexcel Price Performance

Hexcel stock opened at $80.98 on Wednesday. Hexcel has a 12-month low of $45.28 and a 12-month high of $95.22. The company has a current ratio of 2.26, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $85.22 and a 200-day moving average price of $76.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.14 billion, a PE ratio of 58.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.01.

Hexcel (NYSE:HXL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The aerospace company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.02. Hexcel had a net margin of 5.78% and a return on equity of 9.54%. The company had revenue of $491.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $484.46 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.52 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Hexcel has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.100-2.300 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Hexcel will post 2.14 EPS for the current year.

Hexcel Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 9th were issued a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 9th. This is a positive change from Hexcel’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Hexcel’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 52.17%.

Hexcel Company Profile

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.