Hexcel Co. (NYSE:HXL) Shares Purchased by Grandfield & Dodd LLC

Grandfield & Dodd LLC increased its position in shares of Hexcel Co. (NYSE:HXL) by 1.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 319,747 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,433 shares during the period. Hexcel makes up about 1.6% of Grandfield & Dodd LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest position. Grandfield & Dodd LLC owned approximately 0.38% of Hexcel worth $23,581,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of HXL. Morgan Stanley increased its stake in Hexcel by 838.6% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 6,810,199 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $400,780,000 after purchasing an additional 6,084,592 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Hexcel in the 4th quarter worth about $56,738,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA purchased a new position in Hexcel in the 3rd quarter worth about $39,213,000. BlackRock Inc. increased its stake in Hexcel by 6.0% in the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 8,420,295 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $500,755,000 after purchasing an additional 475,375 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp increased its stake in Hexcel by 11.2% in the 1st quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,409,631 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $202,771,000 after purchasing an additional 344,711 shares in the last quarter. 95.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Hexcel Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE HXL traded up $0.31 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $61.71. The stock had a trading volume of 1,082,356 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,101,603. The company has a market capitalization of $5.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.23. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $71.37 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $69.52. Hexcel Co. has a 52 week low of $58.81 and a 52 week high of $79.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a current ratio of 2.74.

Hexcel (NYSE:HXL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The aerospace company reported $0.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $457.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $474.01 million. Hexcel had a return on equity of 9.31% and a net margin of 5.91%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.40 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Hexcel Co. will post 2.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hexcel Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Truist Financial dropped their price target on Hexcel from $96.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. UBS Group cut Hexcel from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $87.00 to $72.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. 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. StockNews.com cut Hexcel from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $80.00 target price on shares of Hexcel in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Hexcel currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $76.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Thierry Merlot sold 4,500 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 50,371 shares in the company, valued at $3,608,074.73. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, insider Gina Fitzsimons sold 864 shares of the company’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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,375 shares in the company, valued at $243,337.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Thierry Merlot sold 4,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, 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. Company insiders own 1.39% 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.