Schroder Investment Management Group Increases Position in Hexcel Co. (NYSE:HXL)

Schroder Investment Management Group lifted its holdings in Hexcel Co. (NYSE:HXL) by 6.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,296,476 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 76,355 shares during the period. Schroder Investment Management Group owned about 1.54% of Hexcel worth $95,615,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Earnest Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Hexcel by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 4,344,230 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $282,983,000 after purchasing an additional 47,591 shares in the last quarter. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Hexcel by 93.0% during the 4th quarter. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC now owns 1,503,055 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $110,850,000 after buying an additional 724,280 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in Hexcel by 143.6% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP increased its stake in Hexcel by 18.8% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Hexcel by 6.3% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,377,915 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $101,621,000 after buying an additional 81,389 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.47% of the company’s stock.

Hexcel Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of Hexcel stock traded up $0.09 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $66.59. 576,393 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 914,041. The firm has a market cap of $5.53 billion, a PE ratio of 57.03, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.31. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $68.15 and its 200 day moving average is $70.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a current ratio of 2.74. Hexcel Co. has a 1 year low of $58.81 and a 1 year high of $79.08.

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

Hexcel Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 10th. Investors of record on Friday, May 3rd were issued a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.90%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 2nd. Hexcel’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.28%.

Insider Activity at Hexcel

In related news, Director Catherine A. Suever acquired 400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was bought at an average price of $68.33 per share, for a total transaction of $27,332.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 15,748 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,076,060.84. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, Director Catherine A. Suever acquired 400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was bought at an average price of $68.33 per share, for a total transaction of $27,332.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 15,748 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,076,060.84. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell acquired 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 25th. The stock was bought at an average price of $64.13 per share, with a total value of $641,300.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 17,803 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,141,706.39. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have acquired 43,400 shares of company stock valued at $2,820,322 over the last quarter. 1.39% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on HXL shares. Morgan Stanley lowered Hexcel from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $70.00 to $66.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on Hexcel from $96.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 19th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Hexcel from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $81.00 to $95.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. Bank of America reiterated an “underperform” rating and issued a $65.00 price objective (down from $75.00) on shares of Hexcel in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $80.00 price objective on shares of Hexcel in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Hexcel has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $77.57.

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.