Hexcel (NYSE:HXL) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Hexcel (NYSE:HXL) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday.

HXL has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on Hexcel from $92.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley raised Hexcel from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $67.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Friday, January 30th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $85.00 price objective on shares of Hexcel in a report on Friday, January 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Hexcel from $67.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Hexcel from $75.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, February 1st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Hexcel currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $82.17.

Hexcel Stock Performance

NYSE:HXL opened at $91.64 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 2.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $84.05 and its 200 day simple moving average is $73.49. The stock has a market cap of $6.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 66.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.01. Hexcel has a twelve month low of $45.28 and a twelve month high of $95.22.

Hexcel (NYSE:HXL) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The aerospace company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.02. Hexcel had a net margin of 5.78% and a return on equity of 9.54%. The firm had revenue of $491.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $484.46 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.52 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Hexcel has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.100-2.300 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Hexcel will post 2.14 EPS for the current year.

Hexcel Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Investors of record on Monday, February 9th were paid a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 9th. This is a positive change from Hexcel’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. Hexcel’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.17%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hexcel news, insider Amy S. Evans sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.80, for a total transaction of $139,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 1,979 shares in the company, valued at approximately $183,651.20. This trade represents a 43.12% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.39% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Hexcel

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in HXL. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in Hexcel by 18.3% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,104,121 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $377,196,000 after purchasing an additional 790,320 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Hexcel by 122.7% during the 3rd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 4,849,941 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $304,091,000 after buying an additional 2,671,682 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Hexcel by 4.3% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,690,924 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $264,990,000 after acquiring an additional 191,649 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Hexcel by 103.8% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,759,673 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $155,894,000 after acquiring an additional 1,405,538 shares during the period. Finally, Brandes Investment Partners LP increased its position in Hexcel by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP now owns 2,506,068 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $185,199,000 after acquiring an additional 7,371 shares during the last quarter. 95.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Hexcel

Hexcel Corporation is a global leader in advanced composite materials for aerospace and industrial applications. The company specializes in the development and manufacture of lightweight, high-performance products that enhance fuel efficiency, durability and structural strength. Its offerings are critical to the aerospace sector, where demand for lighter, more efficient aircraft drives continuous innovation in materials.

Hexcel’s product portfolio encompasses carbon fiber reinforcements, pre-impregnated composites (prepregs), honeycomb core, engineered adhesives and structural film adhesives.