Hexcel Co. (NYSE:HXL) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Hexcel Co. (NYSE:HXL) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,460,000 shares, an increase of 15.0% from the October 31st total of 2,140,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 753,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.3 days. Currently, 3.1% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on HXL. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Hexcel from $77.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Truist Financial reduced their price target on Hexcel from $78.00 to $76.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 18th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on Hexcel from $70.00 to $68.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on Hexcel from $63.00 to $60.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, StockNews.com raised Hexcel from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $70.58.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hexcel

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Speece Thorson Capital Group Inc. boosted its position in Hexcel by 15.6% during the third quarter. Speece Thorson Capital Group Inc. now owns 244,873 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $15,140,000 after purchasing an additional 32,960 shares in the last quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. boosted its position in Hexcel by 12.3% during the third quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 581,557 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $35,957,000 after purchasing an additional 63,730 shares in the last quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. boosted its position in Hexcel by 215.5% during the second quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 865,235 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $54,034,000 after purchasing an additional 590,975 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Hexcel during the second quarter valued at approximately $250,000. Finally, Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Hexcel by 232.6% during the second quarter. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC now owns 98,122 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $6,128,000 after acquiring an additional 68,622 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.47% of the company’s stock.

Hexcel Stock Performance

Shares of HXL traded down $0.09 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $63.91. The company had a trading volume of 724,538 shares, compared to its average volume of 864,662. Hexcel has a 52-week low of $57.50 and a 52-week high of $77.09. The company has a quick ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 2.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.79, a PEG ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 1.30. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $61.20 and a two-hundred day moving average of $63.14.

Hexcel (NYSE:HXL) last issued its earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The aerospace company reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.01. Hexcel had a return on equity of 9.99% and a net margin of 5.73%. The firm had revenue of $457.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $457.07 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.38 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Hexcel will post 2.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Hexcel Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 1st were given a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 1st. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.94%. Hexcel’s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.80%.

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.