ING Groep NV Takes Position in Hexcel Co. (NYSE:HXL)

ING Groep NV purchased a new stake in shares of Hexcel Co. (NYSE:HXL) during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 18,200 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,125,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in shares of Hexcel during the third quarter valued at $56,000. Huntington National Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Hexcel by 30.8% during the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 955 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 225 shares in the last quarter. Eastern Bank bought a new position in Hexcel in the third quarter valued at about $62,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Hexcel by 34.8% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,068 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $67,000 after acquiring an additional 276 shares during the period. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. lifted its holdings in Hexcel by 38.9% in the third quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 1,490 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $92,000 after acquiring an additional 417 shares during the period. 95.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on HXL. Royal Bank of Canada downgraded Hexcel from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $76.00 to $68.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. UBS Group increased their target price on Hexcel from $67.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on Hexcel from $64.00 to $63.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com raised Hexcel from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Hexcel from $63.00 to $61.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $71.54.

Hexcel Stock Performance

NYSE:HXL opened at $59.53 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 2.76, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. Hexcel Co. has a 12-month low of $57.50 and a 12-month high of $77.09. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $61.12 and a 200 day moving average price of $63.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.30.

Hexcel (NYSE:HXL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The aerospace company reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $457.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $457.07 million. Hexcel had a return on equity of 9.99% and a net margin of 5.73%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.38 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Hexcel Co. will post 2.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hexcel Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 1st were issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.01%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 1st. Hexcel’s dividend payout ratio is presently 45.80%.

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.