Kopion Asset Management LLC Cuts Stock Position in Hexcel Corporation $HXL

Kopion Asset Management LLC lessened its stake in Hexcel Corporation (NYSE:HXL) by 19.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 75,785 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 18,373 shares during the quarter. Hexcel makes up about 4.0% of Kopion Asset Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. Kopion Asset Management LLC owned 0.10% of Hexcel worth $5,601,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HXL. New York State Common Retirement Fund increased its stake in Hexcel by 25.8% in the third quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 421,980 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $26,458,000 after purchasing an additional 86,625 shares during the period. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH raised its holdings in shares of Hexcel by 12.6% in the third quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH now owns 403,881 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $25,323,000 after buying an additional 45,061 shares during the last quarter. Madison Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hexcel during the third quarter worth about $1,410,000. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in shares of Hexcel by 124.0% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 347,156 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $21,767,000 after buying an additional 192,190 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Leeward Investments LLC MA grew its holdings in shares of Hexcel by 33.4% during the third quarter. Leeward Investments LLC MA now owns 371,161 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $23,272,000 after buying an additional 92,892 shares during the last quarter. 95.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hexcel

In related news, insider Amy S. Evans sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.80, for a total transaction of $139,200.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 1,979 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $183,651.20. The trade was a 43.12% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.39% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on HXL. Morgan Stanley raised Hexcel from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $67.00 to $90.00 in a report on Friday, January 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Hexcel from $67.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $85.00 price objective on shares of Hexcel in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Hexcel in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Truist Financial set a $94.00 target price on shares of Hexcel in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $82.17.

Hexcel Trading Down 3.1%

Shares of HXL opened at $78.61 on Friday. Hexcel Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $45.28 and a fifty-two week high of $95.22. The company has a market capitalization of $5.96 billion, a PE ratio of 56.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.01. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $85.63 and a two-hundred day moving average of $75.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 2.26.

Hexcel (NYSE:HXL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The aerospace company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $491.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $484.46 million. Hexcel had a net margin of 5.78% and a return on equity of 9.54%. The company’s revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.52 EPS. Hexcel has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.100-2.300 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Hexcel Corporation will post 2.14 EPS for the current year.

Hexcel Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 9th were paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. This is a boost from Hexcel’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 9th. Hexcel’s payout ratio is presently 52.17%.

Hexcel Profile

Hexcel Corporation is a global leader in advanced composite materials for aerospace and industrial applications. The company specializes in the development and manufacture of lightweight, high-performance products that enhance fuel efficiency, durability and structural strength. Its offerings are critical to the aerospace sector, where demand for lighter, more efficient aircraft drives continuous innovation in materials.

Hexcel’s product portfolio encompasses carbon fiber reinforcements, pre-impregnated composites (prepregs), honeycomb core, engineered adhesives and structural film adhesives.