Hexcel (NYSE:HXL) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – Here’s Why

Hexcel Co. (NYSE:HXL) saw an uptick in trading volume on Friday . 1,020,597 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 16% from the previous session’s volume of 877,757 shares.The stock last traded at $67.04 and had previously closed at $66.82.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on HXL shares. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Hexcel from $67.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. StockNews.com raised shares of Hexcel from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Hexcel from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of Hexcel from $70.00 to $68.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded Hexcel to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $71.33.

Hexcel Trading Down 0.7 %

The company’s 50 day moving average price is $62.98 and its 200 day moving average price is $62.57. The firm has a market cap of $5.37 billion, a PE ratio of 50.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 2.76 and a quick ratio of 1.51.

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

Hexcel Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 1st were given a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 1st. Hexcel’s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.80%.

Institutional Trading of Hexcel

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in Hexcel by 5.8% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 21,718 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,356,000 after acquiring an additional 1,197 shares in the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale grew its stake in shares of Hexcel by 487.6% during the second quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 4,683 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $296,000 after purchasing an additional 3,886 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Hexcel by 8.0% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,406,287 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $87,829,000 after purchasing an additional 103,679 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its stake in Hexcel by 155.6% in the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 231,300 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $14,445,000 after buying an additional 140,800 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its holdings in Hexcel by 779.8% during the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 39,776 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,510,000 after buying an additional 35,255 shares during the last quarter. 95.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.