Willis Investment Counsel Buys 362 Shares of Hexcel Co. (NYSE:HXL)

Willis Investment Counsel grew its stake in Hexcel Co. (NYSE:HXL) by 2.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,850 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 362 shares during the quarter. Willis Investment Counsel’s holdings in Hexcel were worth $1,056,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new stake in Hexcel during the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in shares of Hexcel during the third quarter valued at approximately $56,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Hexcel by 53.8% in the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 932 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 326 shares during the last quarter. Huntington National Bank lifted its position in Hexcel by 30.8% in the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 955 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $59,000 after acquiring an additional 225 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Eastern Bank purchased a new stake in Hexcel during the 3rd quarter valued at $62,000. 95.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HXL has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Hexcel from $74.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com cut shares of Hexcel from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Hexcel to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of Hexcel from $70.00 to $68.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Hexcel from $76.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Hexcel presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $73.09.

Hexcel Price Performance

NYSE HXL opened at $65.16 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a current ratio of 2.21. The business’s fifty day moving average is $64.41 and its 200 day moving average is $62.64. The company has a market capitalization of $5.28 billion, a PE ratio of 40.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.31. Hexcel Co. has a fifty-two week low of $57.50 and a fifty-two week high of $77.09.

Hexcel (NYSE:HXL) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The aerospace company reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.52. Hexcel had a net margin of 6.94% and a return on equity of 10.66%. Sell-side analysts predict that Hexcel Co. will post 2.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Hexcel Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.04%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. This is an increase from Hexcel’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. Hexcel’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.74%.

Hexcel Company Profile

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.