Next Century Growth Investors LLC Trims Position in Hexcel Co. (NYSE:HXL)

Next Century Growth Investors LLC cut its stake in Hexcel Co. (NYSE:HXL - Free Report) by 26.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 203,096 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 74,584 shares during the quarter. Next Century Growth Investors LLC owned about 0.25% of Hexcel worth $12,734,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Allworth Financial LP raised its stake in shares of Hexcel by 1,069.8% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 620 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 567 shares during the last quarter. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI purchased a new position in Hexcel in the 4th quarter valued at about $49,000. Manchester Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Hexcel by 100.0% during the 4th quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 840 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 420 shares during the period. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in Hexcel during the fourth quarter worth $57,000. Finally, Huntington National Bank boosted its holdings in Hexcel by 21.4% in the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 1,159 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $73,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares during the period. 95.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on HXL shares. Truist Financial dropped their price target on Hexcel from $80.00 to $73.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded Hexcel from an "overweight" rating to a "reduce" rating in a report on Tuesday. Barclays cut their price target on Hexcel from $75.00 to $68.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Hexcel from $74.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded Hexcel to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, February 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $67.40.

Hexcel Stock Up 0.6 %

HXL traded up $0.29 during trading on Thursday, reaching $52.40. 775,970 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 947,657. Hexcel Co. has a twelve month low of $45.28 and a twelve month high of $73.58. The stock has a market cap of $4.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.08. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $57.81 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $61.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a current ratio of 2.21.

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

Hexcel Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.30%. This is a positive change from Hexcel's previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. Hexcel's payout ratio is 42.77%.

Hexcel 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.