Heartland Advisors Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in Hexcel Co. (NYSE:HXL)

Heartland Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Hexcel Co. (NYSE:HXL - Free Report) by 10.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 121,409 shares of the aerospace company's stock after acquiring an additional 11,409 shares during the quarter. Heartland Advisors Inc. owned 0.15% of Hexcel worth $7,612,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lifted its stake in shares of Hexcel by 13.9% in the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 13,174 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $826,000 after purchasing an additional 1,607 shares during the period. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC bought a new position in Hexcel in the fourth quarter worth approximately $412,000. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Hexcel during the 4th quarter worth $60,241,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Hexcel by 12.7% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,017,787 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $63,815,000 after acquiring an additional 114,620 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of Hexcel by 62.2% during the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 37,300 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $2,351,000 after acquiring an additional 14,307 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 95.47% of the company's stock.

Hexcel Price Performance

Shares of HXL traded up $1.11 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $55.85. 251,119 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 953,761. Hexcel Co. has a 52 week low of $54.02 and a 52 week high of $73.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a current ratio of 2.21. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $61.72 and a 200-day moving average of $62.09. The stock has a market cap of $4.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.13, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.30.

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Hexcel (NYSE:HXL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The aerospace company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.52. Hexcel had a return on equity of 10.66% and a net margin of 6.94%. On average, analysts forecast that Hexcel Co. will post 2.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hexcel Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a dividend of $0.17 per share. This is an increase from Hexcel's previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.22%. Hexcel's dividend payout ratio is presently 42.77%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HXL has been the topic of several analyst reports. Barclays lowered their target price on Hexcel from $75.00 to $68.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Hexcel from $74.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com raised shares of Hexcel from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Truist Financial lowered their price target on shares of Hexcel from $85.00 to $80.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 28th. Finally, TD Cowen raised shares of Hexcel to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Hexcel presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $72.25.

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.