New York State Common Retirement Fund Lowers Stake in Hexcel Co. (NYSE:HXL)

New York State Common Retirement Fund cut its position in Hexcel Co. (NYSE:HXL) by 9.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 295,335 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 31,969 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned approximately 0.36% of Hexcel worth $18,261,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. US Bancorp DE raised its holdings in Hexcel by 2.7% in the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 41,444 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,562,000 after buying an additional 1,074 shares during the last quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Hexcel by 27.6% in the third quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 2,618 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $162,000 after buying an additional 567 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. raised its holdings in Hexcel by 2.2% in the third quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 225,878 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $13,966,000 after buying an additional 4,964 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. raised its holdings in Hexcel by 13.2% in the third quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 4,592 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $284,000 after buying an additional 535 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue raised its holdings in Hexcel by 3.7% in the third quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 9,492 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $586,000 after buying an additional 340 shares during the last quarter. 95.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on shares of Hexcel from $70.00 to $68.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 28th. Royal Bank of Canada cut shares of Hexcel from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $76.00 to $68.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Hexcel from $63.00 to $61.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Vertical Research cut shares of Hexcel from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $65.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Hexcel from $77.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $71.54.

Hexcel Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE HXL opened at $59.95 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $61.30 and a 200 day moving average of $64.10. The company has a current ratio of 2.76, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.30. Hexcel Co. has a 12-month low of $57.50 and a 12-month high of $77.09.

Hexcel (NYSE:HXL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The aerospace company reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $457.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $457.07 million. Hexcel had a net margin of 5.73% and a return on equity of 9.99%. The company’s revenue was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.38 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Hexcel Co. will post 2.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Hexcel Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 1st will be paid a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.00%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 1st. Hexcel’s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.80%.

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.