Hexcel (NYSE:HXL) Sees Strong Trading Volume After Dividend Announcement

Hexcel Co. (NYSE:HXL) saw an uptick in trading volume on Tuesday after the company announced a dividend. 1,134,542 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 29% from the previous session’s volume of 876,221 shares.The stock last traded at $63.83 and had previously closed at $62.52.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Investors of record on Friday, May 3rd will be issued a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 2nd. Hexcel’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.39%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on HXL. 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. UBS Group cut Hexcel from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $87.00 to $72.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Hexcel from $69.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Hexcel from $90.00 to $86.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on Hexcel from $80.00 to $75.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $76.50.

Hexcel Stock Up 1.6 %

The business has a 50-day moving average price of $71.02 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $69.52. The company has a quick ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 2.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The firm has a market cap of $5.28 billion, a PE ratio of 51.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.23.

Hexcel (NYSE:HXL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 22nd. The aerospace company reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.44. Hexcel had a net margin of 5.91% and a return on equity of 9.31%. The company had revenue of $472.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $468.93 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.50 earnings per share. Hexcel’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Hexcel Co. will post 2.22 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hexcel

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Hexcel by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,846,871 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $578,707,000 after purchasing an additional 27,850 shares during the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC boosted its holdings 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. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Hexcel by 93.0% in the 4th quarter. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC now owns 1,503,055 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $110,850,000 after purchasing an additional 724,280 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in shares of Hexcel by 143.6% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,466,380 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $108,146,000 after purchasing an additional 864,405 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Westfield Capital Management Co. LP boosted its holdings in shares of Hexcel by 18.8% in the 3rd quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 1,462,293 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $95,254,000 after purchasing an additional 231,207 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.