Hexcel (NYSE:HXL) Upgraded at Guggenheim

Guggenheim upgraded shares of Hexcel (NYSE:HXL) to a strong-buy rating in a research note released on Monday,Zacks reports.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Hexcel from $88.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Hexcel from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, August 16th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Hexcel from $85.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Hexcel from $113.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on Hexcel from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $108.25.

Hexcel Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:HXL opened at $91.11 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $6.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.78, a PEG ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 2.43 and a quick ratio of 1.37. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $99.15 and a 200 day simple moving average of $92.81. Hexcel has a one year low of $60.26 and a one year high of $111.74.

Hexcel (NYSE:HXL) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The aerospace company reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $529.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $528.08 million. Hexcel had a net margin of 7.76% and a return on equity of 12.34%. The company’s revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.50 earnings per share. Hexcel has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.300-2.400 EPS. Research analysts predict that Hexcel will post 2.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hexcel Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 17th. Investors of record on Monday, August 10th were issued 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, August 10th. Hexcel’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.18%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hexcel

In other Hexcel news, insider Gina Fitzsimons sold 9,675 shares of Hexcel stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.14, for a total transaction of $997,879.50. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 7,712 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $795,415.68. The trade was a 55.65% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Gail Lehman sold 13,829 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.10, for a total value of $1,273,650.90. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 20,148 shares in the company, valued at $1,855,630.80. This trade represents a 40.70% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 1.84% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Hexcel

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Hexcel during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,422,742,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in shares of Hexcel in the 2nd quarter valued at $216,948,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Hexcel during the second quarter worth $51,460,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company acquired a new stake in shares of Hexcel during the second quarter worth $39,649,000. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in Hexcel during the fourth quarter worth $26,645,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.47% of the company’s stock.

Hexcel Company Profile

Hexcel Corporation (NYSE:HXL) develops and manufactures advanced composite materials and structural solutions for the aerospace, defense, space, and industrial markets. Its products are designed to provide high strength and stiffness while reducing weight compared with many traditional materials.

The company’s portfolio includes carbon fibers, specialty reinforcements, prepregs, honeycomb sandwich structures, adhesives, and composite tooling materials. These products are used in aircraft structures, helicopter components, rocket and satellite systems, wind turbine blades, and other applications that require lightweight, durable, and high-performance materials.

Hexcel traces its history to 1946 and serves customers through manufacturing operations and commercial activities in North America, Europe, and Asia-Pacific.