Hexcel Co. (NYSE:HXL) Short Interest Update

Hexcel Co. (NYSE:HXL) was the target of a large decrease in short interest during the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,290,000 shares, a decrease of 11.0% from the August 15th total of 1,450,000 shares. Currently, 1.6% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 863,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.5 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on HXL shares. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Hexcel from $63.00 to $61.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada lowered Hexcel from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $76.00 to $68.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on Hexcel from $73.00 to $71.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on shares of Hexcel from $88.00 to $81.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of Hexcel from $86.00 to $84.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $74.54.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hexcel

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Hexcel during the first quarter worth about $36,000. Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in Hexcel in the 4th quarter valued at about $51,000. Centerpoint Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Hexcel by 44.6% during the first quarter. Centerpoint Advisors LLC now owns 723 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 223 shares during the last quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. purchased a new stake in Hexcel in the first quarter valued at approximately $54,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 276 shares in the last quarter. 95.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Hexcel Price Performance

Shares of NYSE HXL traded down $0.10 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $60.40. The stock had a trading volume of 170,353 shares, compared to its average volume of 888,949. The company has a quick ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 2.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. Hexcel has a 1 year low of $58.54 and a 1 year high of $77.09. The company has a market capitalization of $5.02 billion, a PE ratio of 51.69, a P/E/G ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.29. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $63.05 and a 200-day simple moving average of $66.46.

Hexcel (NYSE:HXL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The aerospace company reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.56 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $500.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $484.26 million. Hexcel had a net margin of 5.78% and a return on equity of 9.55%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.50 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Hexcel will post 2.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hexcel Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 2nd were paid a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.99%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 2nd. Hexcel’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.28%.

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.