Hexcel Co. (NYSE:HXL) Stock Position Lowered by MetLife Investment Management LLC

MetLife Investment Management LLC lessened its position in Hexcel Co. (NYSE:HXL) by 3.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 42,244 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 1,514 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Hexcel were worth $2,612,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of HXL. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Hexcel in the 1st quarter worth $245,000. Tidal Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of Hexcel by 40.6% in the 1st quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 5,415 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $394,000 after acquiring an additional 1,564 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hexcel in the 1st quarter worth $394,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Hexcel by 34.8% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,068 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $67,000 after acquiring an additional 276 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Hexcel by 74.8% in the 2nd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 11,646 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $727,000 after acquiring an additional 4,982 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.47% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HXL has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com raised Hexcel from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Hexcel from $77.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Vertical Research lowered Hexcel from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $65.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on Hexcel from $63.00 to $60.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered Hexcel from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $76.00 to $68.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $70.58.

Hexcel Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE HXL opened at $65.31 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a current ratio of 2.76. The firm has a market cap of $5.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.86, a P/E/G ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 1.30. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $61.25 and its 200-day simple moving average is $63.09. Hexcel Co. has a 52 week low of $57.50 and a 52 week high of $77.09.

Hexcel (NYSE:HXL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 21st. The aerospace company reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.01. Hexcel had a return on equity of 9.99% and a net margin of 5.73%. The business had revenue of $457.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $457.07 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.38 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Hexcel Co. will post 2.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hexcel Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Investors of record on Friday, November 1st were paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 1st. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.92%. Hexcel’s payout ratio is 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.