Hexcel Co. (NYSE:HXL) Short Interest Down 7.4% in March

Hexcel Co. (NYSE:HXL) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,760,000 shares, a decrease of 7.4% from the March 15th total of 1,900,000 shares. Approximately 2.1% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 760,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.3 days.

Hexcel Stock Up 0.4 %

Hexcel stock traded up $0.26 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $61.76. 1,523,828 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 860,046. Hexcel has a 52-week low of $58.81 and a 52-week high of $79.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.23. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $72.12 and its 200-day moving average price is $69.68. 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 (NYSE:HXL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The aerospace company reported $0.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.49 by ($0.06). Hexcel had a net margin of 5.91% and a return on equity of 9.31%. The business had revenue of $457.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $474.01 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.40 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Hexcel will post 2.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hexcel Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on HXL shares. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Hexcel from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their target price for the company from $70.00 to $66.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $80.00 target price on shares of Hexcel in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Hexcel from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 3rd. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Hexcel from $69.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. Finally, Bank of America reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and set a $65.00 price target (down previously from $75.00) on shares of Hexcel in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $77.14.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hexcel

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hexcel

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Morgan Stanley grew its holdings in shares of Hexcel by 838.6% during 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. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Hexcel during the 4th quarter valued at $56,738,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $108,146,000 after purchasing an additional 864,405 shares during the last quarter. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Hexcel by 93.0% during 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. Finally, BlackRock Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Hexcel by 6.0% during the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 8,420,295 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $500,755,000 after purchasing an additional 475,375 shares during the last quarter. 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.