New York State Common Retirement Fund grew its stake in Hexcel Co. (NYSE:HXL – Get Rating) by 0.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 822,274 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 7,469 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned approximately 0.98% of Hexcel worth $48,391,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Hexcel by 12.6% in the first quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 8,268 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $492,000 after purchasing an additional 922 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE increased its stake in Hexcel by 17.0% in the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 11,064 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $658,000 after buying an additional 1,609 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Hexcel by 10.6% during the first quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 17,097 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,017,000 after acquiring an additional 1,641 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Hexcel by 18.0% in the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 16,823 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,000,000 after acquiring an additional 2,567 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can boosted its stake in shares of Hexcel by 22.7% in the first quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 34,884 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,087,000 after acquiring an additional 6,443 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 97.87% of the company’s stock.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
Several brokerages recently issued reports on HXL. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Hexcel from $60.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 30th. Bank of America cut shares of Hexcel from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $75.00 to $70.00 in a research report on Friday, February 3rd. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Hexcel from $65.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 9th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Hexcel from $76.00 to $71.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Hexcel in a research note on Thursday, March 16th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Hexcel presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $66.13.
Hexcel Stock Up 0.7 %
Hexcel (NYSE:HXL – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 25th. The aerospace company reported $0.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.31 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $429.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $402.18 million. Hexcel had a return on equity of 7.29% and a net margin of 8.01%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.16 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Hexcel Co. will post 1.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Hexcel Increases Dividend
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 10th were given a dividend of $0.125 per share. This is a boost from Hexcel’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 9th. This represents a $0.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.73%. Hexcel’s payout ratio is 33.78%.
Insider Activity
In related news, insider Thierry Merlot sold 4,265 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.51, for a total value of $292,195.15. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 38,010 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,604,065.10. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, Director Marilyn Minus sold 700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.31, for a total transaction of $49,917.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 3,672 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $261,850.32. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Thierry Merlot sold 4,265 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.51, for a total transaction of $292,195.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 38,010 shares in the company, valued at $2,604,065.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 9,722 shares of company stock valued at $676,077. 1.55% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.
Hexcel Profile
Hexcel Corp. engages in the development, manufacture, and marketing of lightweight structural materials. It operates through the Composite Materials and Engineered Products segments. The Composite Materials segment includes carbon fiber, specialty reinforcements, resins, prepregs and other fiber-reinforced matrix materials, and honeycomb core product lines and pultruded profiles.
Read More
- Get a free copy of the StockNews.com research report on Hexcel (HXL)
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