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

Hexcel Co. (NYSE:HXL) saw a significant drop in short interest in the month of June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,250,000 shares, a drop of 12.0% from the May 31st total of 1,420,000 shares. Currently, 1.5% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 1,090,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.1 days.

Hexcel Stock Up 1.5 %

HXL traded up $0.95 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $64.74. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 438,234 shares, compared to its average volume of 937,011. Hexcel has a 1 year low of $58.81 and a 1 year high of $79.08. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $67.26 and its 200-day moving average is $69.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.33, a PEG ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a current ratio of 2.74, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44.

Hexcel (NYSE:HXL) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The aerospace company reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.44. Hexcel had a return on equity of 8.97% and a net margin of 5.52%. The business had revenue of $472.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $468.93 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.50 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Hexcel will post 2.21 EPS for the current year.

Hexcel Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 3rd were issued a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 2nd. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.93%. Hexcel’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.28%.

Insider Activity at Hexcel

In other news, CEO Nick L. Stanage purchased 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 26th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $64.29 per share, with a total value of $964,350.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 392,446 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,230,353.34. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell bought 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 25th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $64.13 per share, with a total value of $641,300.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 17,803 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,141,706.39. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Nick L. Stanage bought 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 26th. The shares were bought at an average price of $64.29 per share, with a total value of $964,350.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 392,446 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,230,353.34. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders bought 43,400 shares of company stock valued at $2,820,322. Corporate insiders own 1.85% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hexcel

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Hexcel during the 4th quarter valued at $66,597,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in Hexcel by 143.6% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,466,380 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $108,146,000 after buying an additional 864,405 shares in the last quarter. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC raised its position in Hexcel by 93.0% in the 4th quarter. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC now owns 1,503,055 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $110,850,000 after buying an additional 724,280 shares during the last quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. lifted its stake in Hexcel by 114.4% during the 1st quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 436,321 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $31,786,000 after acquiring an additional 232,827 shares during the period. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in Hexcel by 151.5% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 344,342 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $25,086,000 after acquiring an additional 207,434 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.47% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on HXL shares. Truist Financial reduced their target price on Hexcel from $96.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Hexcel from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $81.00 to $95.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on Hexcel from $70.00 to $68.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $76.00 price objective on shares of Hexcel in a research report on Friday, June 14th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their target price on Hexcel from $73.00 to $71.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $76.86.

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.