Hexcel (NYSE:HXL) Updates FY 2024 Earnings Guidance

Hexcel (NYSE:HXL) updated its FY 2024 earnings guidance on Tuesday. The company provided EPS guidance of 2.100-2.300 for the period, compared to the consensus EPS estimate of 2.230. The company issued revenue guidance of $1.9 billion-$2.0 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $2.0 billion. Hexcel also updated its FY24 guidance to $2.10-2.30 EPS.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on HXL. UBS Group cut Hexcel from a buy rating to a neutral rating and decreased their price target for the company from $87.00 to $72.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Hexcel from $81.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an outperform rating and issued a $80.00 price target on shares of Hexcel in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Truist Financial raised shares of Hexcel from a hold rating to a buy rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $62.00 to $96.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. Finally, Bank of America reaffirmed an underperform rating and set a $65.00 target price (down from $75.00) on shares of Hexcel in a research note on Wednesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $76.57.

Hexcel Trading Down 12.3 %

HXL opened at $62.39 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $72.46 and a 200 day moving average of $69.72. The company has a current ratio of 2.74, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. Hexcel has a 12 month low of $58.81 and a 12 month high of $79.08. The firm has a market cap of $5.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.31, a P/E/G ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.23.

Hexcel (NYSE:HXL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The aerospace company reported $0.43 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $457.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $474.01 million. Hexcel had a return on equity of 9.31% and a net margin of 5.91%. Hexcel’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.40 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Hexcel will post 2.25 EPS for the current year.

Hexcel Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 9th were issued a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.96%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 8th. This is a positive change from Hexcel’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. Hexcel’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.39%.

Insider Activity at Hexcel

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Creative Planning purchased a new stake in Hexcel in the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Hexcel in the second quarter worth $31,000. Belpointe Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Hexcel by 45.2% in the first quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 784 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in Hexcel during the 2nd quarter worth about $98,000. Finally, KBC Group NV purchased a new position in shares of Hexcel during the 4th quarter valued at about $122,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.47% of the company’s stock.

About Hexcel

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.