HighPoint Advisor Group LLC Makes New $646,000 Investment in Hexcel Co. (NYSE:HXL)

HighPoint Advisor Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hexcel Co. (NYSE:HXL) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 8,866 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $646,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Hexcel by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,846,871 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $578,707,000 after purchasing an additional 27,850 shares during the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Hexcel by 1.1% during the third quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 4,344,230 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $282,983,000 after purchasing an additional 47,591 shares during the last quarter. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Hexcel by 93.0% during the fourth quarter. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC now owns 1,503,055 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $110,850,000 after purchasing an additional 724,280 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in shares of Hexcel by 143.6% during the fourth 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 during the period. Finally, Westfield Capital Management Co. LP boosted its stake in shares of Hexcel by 18.8% during the third quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 1,462,293 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $95,254,000 after buying an additional 231,207 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.47% of the company’s stock.

Hexcel Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of Hexcel stock opened at $63.23 on Wednesday. Hexcel Co. has a 12-month low of $58.81 and a 12-month high of $79.08. The company has a current ratio of 2.74, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The stock has a market cap of $5.26 billion, a PE ratio of 54.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a 50-day moving average of $67.16 and a two-hundred day moving average of $70.36.

Hexcel (NYSE:HXL) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The aerospace company reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.44. Hexcel had a net margin of 5.52% and a return on equity of 8.97%. The company had revenue of $472.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $468.93 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.50 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Hexcel Co. will post 2.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hexcel Dividend Announcement

The business 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 was Thursday, May 2nd. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.95%. Hexcel’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.28%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hexcel

In related news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell bought 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 25th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $64.13 per share, with a total value of $641,300.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 17,803 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,141,706.39. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Hexcel news, Director Catherine A. Suever acquired 400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $68.33 per share, with a total value of $27,332.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 15,748 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,076,060.84. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell acquired 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 17,803 shares in the company, valued at $1,141,706.39. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders purchased 43,400 shares of company stock valued at $2,820,322. Corporate insiders own 1.85% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Hexcel from $77.00 to $73.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Hexcel from $90.00 to $86.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Hexcel from $69.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Hexcel from $69.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Hexcel from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $70.00 to $66.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $77.29.

About Hexcel

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.