64,679 Shares in Hexcel Co. (NYSE:HXL) Acquired by International Assets Investment Management LLC

International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hexcel Co. (NYSE:HXL) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 64,679 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,770,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC owned about 0.08% of Hexcel as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HXL. BlackRock Inc. grew its stake in shares of Hexcel by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 9,171,181 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $625,933,000 after purchasing an additional 112,122 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its stake in shares of Hexcel by 838.6% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 6,810,199 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $400,780,000 after purchasing an additional 6,084,592 shares during the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC grew 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 during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Hexcel by 11.2% in the 1st quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,409,631 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $202,771,000 after purchasing an additional 344,711 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Eaton Vance Management grew its stake in shares of Hexcel by 4.4% in the 1st quarter. Eaton Vance Management now owns 2,476,907 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $147,301,000 after purchasing an additional 103,891 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.47% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Hexcel news, insider Gina Fitzsimons sold 864 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.10, for a total transaction of $62,294.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 3,375 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $243,337.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Hexcel news, insider Gina Fitzsimons sold 864 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.10, for a total transaction of $62,294.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 3,375 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $243,337.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Thierry Merlot sold 4,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.63, for a total value of $322,335.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 50,371 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,608,074.73. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.85% of the company’s stock.

Hexcel Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:HXL opened at $61.76 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $5.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a quick ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 2.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. Hexcel Co. has a 52 week low of $58.81 and a 52 week high of $79.08. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $71.97 and a 200-day simple moving average of $69.65.

Hexcel (NYSE:HXL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 25th. The aerospace company reported $0.43 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by ($0.06). The business had revenue of $457.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $474.01 million. Hexcel had a net margin of 5.91% and a return on equity of 9.31%. Hexcel’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.40 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Hexcel Co. will post 2.23 EPS for the current year.

Hexcel Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 9th were given a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 8th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.97%. This is an increase from Hexcel’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. Hexcel’s payout ratio is currently 48.39%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on HXL. Northcoast Research downgraded Hexcel from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. UBS Group downgraded Hexcel from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $87.00 to $72.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. Bank of America restated an “underperform” rating and issued a $65.00 price target (down from $75.00) on shares of Hexcel in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Hexcel from $81.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $80.00 price target on shares of Hexcel in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $77.14.

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.