Wells Fargo & Company Upgrades Hexcel (NYSE:HXL) to Overweight

Hexcel (NYSE:HXL) was upgraded by Wells Fargo & Company from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, MarketBeat reports. The firm presently has a $95.00 price objective on the aerospace company’s stock, up from their previous price objective of $81.00. Wells Fargo & Company‘s target price indicates a potential upside of 29.62% from the company’s current price.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on HXL. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $80.00 price target on shares of Hexcel in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Morgan Stanley downgraded Hexcel from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $70.00 to $66.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Hexcel from $80.00 to $75.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. StockNews.com cut shares of Hexcel from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 3rd. Finally, Bank of America restated an “underperform” rating and set a $65.00 target price (down previously from $75.00) on shares of Hexcel in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Hexcel has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $77.57.

Hexcel Stock Performance

HXL opened at $73.29 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $69.51 and its 200 day moving average is $69.55. The company has a current ratio of 2.74, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The company has a market cap of $6.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 62.64, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.25. Hexcel has a 12-month low of $58.81 and a 12-month high of $79.08.

Hexcel (NYSE:HXL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The aerospace company reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.44. The business had revenue of $472.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $468.93 million. Hexcel had a net margin of 5.52% and a return on equity of 8.97%. The company’s revenue was up 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.50 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Hexcel will post 2.22 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hexcel

In other news, Director Catherine A. Suever bought 400 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $68.33 per share, for a total transaction of $27,332.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 15,748 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,076,060.84. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, CEO Nick L. Stanage purchased 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 26th. The stock was bought at an average price of $64.29 per share, for a total transaction of $964,350.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 392,446 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,230,353.34. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Catherine A. Suever acquired 400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were bought at an average price of $68.33 per share, for a total transaction of $27,332.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 15,748 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,076,060.84. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders bought 43,400 shares of company stock worth $2,820,322 in the last quarter. 1.85% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hexcel

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of HXL. Cetera Trust Company N.A purchased a new position in Hexcel during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. CENTRAL TRUST Co boosted its stake in shares of Hexcel by 68.1% during the 3rd quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 442 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares during the period. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Hexcel during the 1st quarter valued at about $36,000. RiverPark Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Hexcel in the 3rd quarter worth about $41,000. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. bought a new stake in Hexcel in the fourth quarter worth about $51,000. Institutional investors own 95.47% of the company’s stock.

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.