Hexcel Co. (NYSE:HXL) Sees Large Decline in Short Interest

Hexcel Co. (NYSE:HXL) saw a large decrease in short interest during the month of June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,250,000 shares, a decrease of 12.0% from the May 31st total of 1,420,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,090,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.1 days. Approximately 1.5% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Insider Transactions at Hexcel

In other Hexcel news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell purchased 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 25th. The shares were bought at an average price of $64.13 per share, for a total transaction of $641,300.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 17,803 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,141,706.39. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Hexcel news, CEO Nick L. Stanage acquired 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 26th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $64.29 per share, with a total value of $964,350.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 392,446 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,230,353.34. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell acquired 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 25th. The stock was bought at an average price of $64.13 per share, for a total transaction of $641,300.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 17,803 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,141,706.39. 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. 1.85% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hexcel

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HXL. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Hexcel during the 4th quarter worth about $66,597,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in shares of Hexcel by 143.6% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,466,380 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $108,146,000 after acquiring an additional 864,405 shares during the period. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Hexcel by 93.0% in the 4th quarter. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC now owns 1,503,055 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $110,850,000 after acquiring an additional 724,280 shares during the period. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. raised its position in shares of Hexcel by 114.4% in the 1st quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 436,321 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $31,786,000 after acquiring an additional 232,827 shares during the period. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in shares of Hexcel by 151.5% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 344,342 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $25,086,000 after acquiring an additional 207,434 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 95.47% of the company’s stock.

Hexcel Price Performance

Shares of HXL traded up $0.95 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $64.74. The stock had a trading volume of 438,234 shares, compared to its average volume of 937,011. The company’s fifty day moving average is $67.23 and its two-hundred day moving average is $69.72. 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 has a 52 week low of $58.81 and a 52 week high of $79.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.51, a P/E/G ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.28.

Hexcel (NYSE:HXL) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The aerospace company reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.44. Hexcel had a net margin of 5.52% and a return on equity of 8.97%. The business had revenue of $472.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $468.93 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.50 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Hexcel will post 2.21 EPS for the current year.

Hexcel Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 2nd. Hexcel’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.28%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on HXL shares. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $76.00 target price on shares of Hexcel in a research note on Friday, June 14th. Northcoast Research cut shares of Hexcel from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of Hexcel from $86.00 to $84.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on shares of Hexcel from $70.00 to $68.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, June 28th. Finally, Bank of America reiterated an “underperform” rating and set a $65.00 target price (down from $75.00) on shares of Hexcel in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $76.86.

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.