Hexcel (NYSE:HXL) Raised to “Buy” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Hexcel (NYSE:HXL) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Thursday.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Hexcel from $76.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. TD Cowen raised Hexcel to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Hexcel from $81.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on shares of Hexcel from $63.00 to $60.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Hexcel from $74.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $73.09.

Hexcel Stock Performance

NYSE HXL opened at $62.26 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 2.21 and a quick ratio of 1.20. Hexcel has a 1-year low of $57.50 and a 1-year high of $77.09. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $64.81 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $62.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.05 billion, a PE ratio of 39.16, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.31.

Hexcel (NYSE:HXL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The aerospace company reported $0.52 earnings per share 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%. On average, research analysts predict that Hexcel will post 2.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hexcel Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a dividend of $0.17 per share. This is a positive change from Hexcel’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.09%. Hexcel’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 42.77%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hexcel

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in shares of Hexcel by 4,372.3% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,502,676 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $156,919,000 after purchasing an additional 2,446,716 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Hexcel during the 4th quarter valued at $60,241,000. Brandes Investment Partners LP lifted its holdings in shares of Hexcel by 99.6% in the 4th quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP now owns 1,304,669 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $81,803,000 after buying an additional 651,062 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its position in shares of Hexcel by 249.6% during the 4th quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 815,658 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $51,142,000 after buying an additional 582,353 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DAVENPORT & Co LLC increased its stake in shares of Hexcel by 1,153.9% during the fourth quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 535,962 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $33,546,000 after buying an additional 493,218 shares during the period. 95.47% of the stock is currently owned by 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.