Hexcel (NYSE:HXL) Upgraded by StockNews.com to "Buy" Rating

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Hexcel (NYSE:HXL - Free Report) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Saturday.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on HXL. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on shares of Hexcel from $80.00 to $73.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Hexcel to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, February 24th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of Hexcel from an "overweight" rating to a "reduce" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Hexcel from $75.00 to $68.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Hexcel from $61.00 to $50.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $67.40.

Hexcel Stock Up 6.2 %

Hexcel stock traded up $2.99 on Friday, hitting $51.30. 69,223 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,204,171. The company has a current ratio of 2.21, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The firm has a market cap of $4.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.08. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $56.66 and its 200 day simple moving average is $60.90. Hexcel has a 1 year low of $45.28 and a 1 year high of $73.58.

Hexcel (NYSE:HXL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 21st. The aerospace company reported $0.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.43 by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $456.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $482.18 million. Hexcel had a return on equity of 10.66% and a net margin of 6.94%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.44 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Hexcel will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Hexcel Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 2nd will be given a $0.17 dividend. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 2nd. Hexcel's dividend payout ratio is presently 42.77%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hexcel

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in shares of Hexcel by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 14,766 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $926,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares during the period. Huntington National Bank grew its holdings in shares of Hexcel by 21.4% during 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 last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Hexcel by 21.1% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,181 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $74,000 after buying an additional 206 shares during the period. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Hexcel by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC now owns 5,077 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $318,000 after buying an additional 218 shares during the period. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina lifted its position in Hexcel by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 35,779 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $2,243,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares during the period. 95.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.