Hexcel Corporation (NYSE:HXL) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of Hexcel Corporation (NYSE:HXL) have earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the fifteen ratings firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $82.1667.

HXL has been the subject of several recent research reports. UBS Group set a $99.00 price target on Hexcel in a report on Friday, January 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on Hexcel from $92.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Hexcel from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Hexcel in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Hexcel from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $67.00 to $90.00 in a report on Friday, January 30th.

Hexcel Price Performance

Shares of NYSE HXL opened at $78.80 on Friday. Hexcel has a fifty-two week low of $45.28 and a fifty-two week high of $95.22. The stock has a market cap of $5.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.10, a PEG ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 2.26. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $85.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $75.13.

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

Hexcel Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Hexcel

In other news, insider Amy S. Evans sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.80, for a total value of $139,200.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 1,979 shares in the company, valued at $183,651.20. The trade was a 43.12% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.39% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Hexcel

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of HXL. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its position in Hexcel by 122.7% in the third quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 4,849,941 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $304,091,000 after purchasing an additional 2,671,682 shares during the last quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Hexcel during the 3rd quarter valued at $123,233,000. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in shares of Hexcel by 103.8% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,759,673 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $155,894,000 after purchasing an additional 1,405,538 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Hexcel during the 2nd quarter worth $57,697,000. Finally, Brandes Investment Partners LP boosted its holdings in shares of Hexcel by 49.1% in the 2nd quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP now owns 2,440,242 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $137,850,000 after buying an additional 803,123 shares during the last quarter. 95.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.