Stock Traders Buy Large Volume of Hexcel Call Options (NYSE:HXL)

Hexcel Corporation (NYSE:HXL) was the target of unusually large options trading on Tuesday. Stock investors bought 5,252 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 1,633% compared to the typical daily volume of 303 call options.

Hexcel Stock Up 3.3%

Shares of NYSE:HXL traded up $2.58 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $79.64. The company had a trading volume of 634,096 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,294,605. Hexcel has a 1-year low of $45.28 and a 1-year high of $95.22. The stock has a market cap of $6.04 billion, a PE ratio of 57.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.01. 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 business’s 50 day moving average price is $85.23 and its 200 day moving average price is $75.97.

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

Hexcel Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 9th were given a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. This is an increase from Hexcel’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 9th. Hexcel’s payout ratio is currently 52.17%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hexcel news, insider Amy S. Evans sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.80, for a total value of $139,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 1,979 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $183,651.20. The trade was a 43.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 2.03% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in Hexcel by 18.3% in the 4th 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 last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its stake in Hexcel by 122.7% in the third 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 lifted its position 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 valued at $264,990,000 after buying an additional 191,649 shares during the last quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP boosted its stake in shares of Hexcel by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP now owns 2,506,068 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $185,199,000 after acquiring an additional 7,371 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in shares of Hexcel by 23.0% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,289,145 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $169,168,000 after acquiring an additional 428,541 shares during the period. 95.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on HXL. Wall Street Zen upgraded Hexcel from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Bank of America raised Hexcel from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $60.00 to $95.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. UBS Group set a $99.00 price target on Hexcel in a report on Friday, January 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on Hexcel from $92.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $85.00 target price on shares of Hexcel in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Hexcel has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $82.17.

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.