Hexcel (NYSE:HXL) PT Lowered to $61.00 at Morgan Stanley

Hexcel (NYSE:HXL) had its price target cut by Morgan Stanley from $63.00 to $61.00 in a research report sent to investors on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have an underweight rating on the aerospace company’s stock.

Several other brokerages also recently commented on HXL. Northcoast Research downgraded shares of Hexcel from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Hexcel from $69.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Bank of America reiterated an underperform rating and issued a $65.00 price target (down previously from $75.00) on shares of Hexcel in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of Hexcel from $73.00 to $71.00 and set a market perform rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 19th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Hexcel from $73.00 to $71.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $75.71.

Hexcel Trading Down 4.2 %

Shares of NYSE HXL opened at $61.56 on Monday. Hexcel has a 1-year low of $58.81 and a 1-year high of $77.09. The company has a market cap of $5.03 billion, a PE ratio of 52.62, a P/E/G ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a current ratio of 2.75, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The company has a 50-day moving average of $66.04 and a two-hundred day moving average of $68.84.

Hexcel (NYSE:HXL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The aerospace company reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $500.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $484.26 million. Hexcel had a net margin of 5.78% and a return on equity of 9.55%. Hexcel’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.50 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Hexcel will post 2.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hexcel Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 2nd. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.97%. Hexcel’s payout ratio is 51.28%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Catherine A. Suever acquired 400 shares of Hexcel stock in a transaction on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $68.33 per share, for a total transaction of $27,332.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 15,748 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,076,060.84. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CEO Tom Gentile purchased 15,000 shares of Hexcel stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were bought at an average cost of $66.25 per share, for a total transaction of $993,750.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 15,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $993,750. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Catherine A. Suever purchased 400 shares of Hexcel stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The stock was bought at an average price of $68.33 per share, for a total transaction of $27,332.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 15,748 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,076,060.84. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have bought 33,400 shares of company stock worth $2,179,022 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.39% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hexcel

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HXL. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Hexcel during the 4th quarter worth approximately $66,597,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in shares of Hexcel by 143.6% during 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 lifted its position in shares of Hexcel by 93.0% during 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 holdings in Hexcel by 114.4% during the first quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 436,321 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $31,786,000 after buying an additional 232,827 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in Hexcel by 151.5% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 344,342 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $25,086,000 after buying an additional 207,434 shares during the last quarter. 95.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Hexcel Company Profile

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.