American International Group Inc. Decreases Stock Position in Hexcel Co. (NYSE:HXL)

American International Group Inc. lessened its stake in Hexcel Co. (NYSE:HXL) by 4.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 113,616 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 5,387 shares during the quarter. American International Group Inc. owned about 0.13% of Hexcel worth $8,379,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Trexquant Investment LP purchased a new position in Hexcel in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,185,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hexcel in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,362,000. Evoke Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hexcel in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,036,000. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Hexcel by 16.4% in the 4th quarter. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC now owns 217,202 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $16,019,000 after purchasing an additional 30,652 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Speece Thorson Capital Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Hexcel by 71.6% in the 4th quarter. Speece Thorson Capital Group Inc. now owns 179,670 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $13,251,000 after purchasing an additional 74,957 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.47% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Hexcel

In other Hexcel news, Director Catherine A. Suever purchased 400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The stock was bought at an average price of $68.33 per share, with a total value of $27,332.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 15,748 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,076,060.84. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, Director Guy C. Hachey bought 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 29th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $64.53 per share, with a total value of $193,590.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 3,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $193,590. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Catherine A. Suever bought 400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were purchased 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $1,076,060.84. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders acquired 43,400 shares of company stock valued at $2,820,322. 1.85% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised Hexcel from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $81.00 to $95.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 8th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Hexcel from $69.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. Bank of America reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and issued a $65.00 target price (down from $75.00) on shares of Hexcel in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. UBS Group dropped their price target on Hexcel from $77.00 to $73.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on Hexcel from $71.00 to $70.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $77.29.

Hexcel Price Performance

Shares of NYSE HXL opened at $63.26 on Thursday. Hexcel Co. has a 1-year low of $58.81 and a 1-year high of $79.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 2.74 and a quick ratio of 1.51. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $67.02 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $70.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.26 billion, a PE ratio of 54.07, a P/E/G ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.31.

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

Hexcel Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 3rd were paid a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 2nd. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.95%. Hexcel’s payout ratio is 51.28%.

Hexcel 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.