TimesSquare Capital Management LLC Purchases 724,280 Shares of Hexcel Co. (NYSE:HXL)

TimesSquare Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Hexcel Co. (NYSE:HXL) by 93.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,503,055 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 724,280 shares during the quarter. Hexcel comprises approximately 1.6% of TimesSquare Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest holding. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC owned about 1.79% of Hexcel worth $110,850,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in HXL. Earnest Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Hexcel by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 4,344,230 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $282,983,000 after acquiring an additional 47,591 shares during the last quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP increased its stake in 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 buying an additional 231,207 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Hexcel by 6.3% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,377,915 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $101,621,000 after buying an additional 81,389 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. boosted its stake in shares of Hexcel by 5.5% in the 3rd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 1,053,735 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $68,640,000 after buying an additional 55,384 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Hexcel by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 794,209 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $58,573,000 after acquiring an additional 11,190 shares in the last quarter. 95.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Hexcel Price Performance

NYSE:HXL traded up $0.64 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $73.29. The stock had a trading volume of 1,027,827 shares, compared to its average volume of 966,529. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 62.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.25. Hexcel Co. has a one year low of $58.81 and a one year high of $79.08. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $69.53 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $69.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 2.74 and a quick ratio of 1.51.

Hexcel (NYSE:HXL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The aerospace company reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.44. Hexcel had a return on equity of 8.97% and a net margin of 5.52%. The company had revenue of $472.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $468.93 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.50 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Hexcel Co. will post 2.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hexcel Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 3rd will be paid a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.82%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 2nd. Hexcel’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.28%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Hexcel from $90.00 to $86.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. 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. Morgan Stanley downgraded Hexcel from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $70.00 to $66.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Hexcel from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $81.00 to $95.00 in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Hexcel from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $77.57.

Insider Activity at Hexcel

In related news, insider Thierry Merlot sold 4,500 shares of Hexcel stock in a transaction on 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 owns 50,371 shares in the company, valued at $3,608,074.73. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 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 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Catherine A. Suever acquired 400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $68.33 per share, for a total transaction of $27,332.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly 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 have acquired a total of 43,400 shares of company stock worth $2,820,322 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.85% 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.