Hexcel (NYSE:HXL) Rating Increased to Outperform at Royal Bank of Canada

Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Hexcel (NYSE:HXL) from a sector perform rating to an outperform rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, MarketBeat reports. Royal Bank of Canada currently has $74.00 price objective on the aerospace company’s stock, up from their prior price objective of $68.00.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of Hexcel from $70.00 to $68.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on Hexcel from $63.00 to $60.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Hexcel from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Vertical Research downgraded Hexcel from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $65.00 target price for the company. in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Truist Financial cut their price target on Hexcel from $78.00 to $76.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Hexcel has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $71.33.

Hexcel Price Performance

HXL stock opened at $63.06 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a current ratio of 2.76. Hexcel has a 52-week low of $57.50 and a 52-week high of $77.09. The company has a market capitalization of $5.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.14, a PEG ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $61.95 and a 200-day moving average price of $62.65.

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

Hexcel Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Investors 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 0.95%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 1st. Hexcel’s payout ratio is currently 45.80%.

Institutional Trading of Hexcel

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. bought a new position in Hexcel in the 2nd quarter valued at $250,000. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Hexcel by 280.7% during the 2nd quarter. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC now owns 722,290 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $45,107,000 after purchasing an additional 532,550 shares during the last quarter. RiverPark Advisors LLC increased its position in Hexcel by 18.1% in the second quarter. RiverPark Advisors LLC now owns 5,312 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $332,000 after buying an additional 814 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its stake in shares of Hexcel by 2.2% in the second quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 17,867 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,116,000 after buying an additional 383 shares during the period. Finally, Speece Thorson Capital Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Hexcel by 19.5% during the 2nd quarter. Speece Thorson Capital Group Inc. now owns 211,913 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $13,234,000 after buying an additional 34,605 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.47% of the company’s stock.

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.