DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale Sells 225 Shares of Hexcel Co. (NYSE:HXL)

DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale cut its stake in shares of Hexcel Co. (NYSE:HXL) by 5.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,609 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 225 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale’s holdings in Hexcel were worth $265,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in HXL. CENTRAL TRUST Co raised its stake in Hexcel by 68.1% in the 3rd quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 442 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 179 shares during the period. Creative Planning bought a new stake in Hexcel in the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its stake in Hexcel by 100.0% in the 2nd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 412 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 206 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in Hexcel in the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, RiverPark Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Hexcel in the 3rd quarter valued at about $41,000. 95.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Hexcel Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE HXL opened at $61.76 on Wednesday. Hexcel Co. has a 12 month low of $58.81 and a 12 month high of $79.08. The company has a current ratio of 2.74, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.81, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.23. The business has a 50-day moving average of $71.97 and a 200-day moving average of $69.65.

Hexcel (NYSE:HXL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 25th. The aerospace company reported $0.43 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.49 by ($0.06). The business had revenue of $457.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $474.01 million. Hexcel had a return on equity of 9.31% and a net margin of 5.91%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.40 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Hexcel Co. will post 2.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hexcel Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 9th were paid a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 8th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.97%. This is a positive change from Hexcel’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. Hexcel’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.39%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hexcel news, insider Thierry Merlot sold 4,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.63, for a total value of $322,335.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 50,371 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,608,074.73. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Hexcel news, insider Gina Fitzsimons sold 864 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.10, for a total value 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Thierry Merlot sold 4,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.63, for a total value of $322,335.00. Following the completion of 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. 1.85% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on HXL shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Hexcel from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Bank of America reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and set a $65.00 target price (down previously from $75.00) on shares of Hexcel in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. UBS Group lowered Hexcel from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $87.00 to $72.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. Barclays reduced their target price on Hexcel from $80.00 to $75.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Hexcel from $69.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently 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.