Hexcel (NYSE:HXL) Sees Large Volume Increase – Still a Buy?

Hexcel Co. (NYSE:HXL) shares saw strong trading volume on Friday . 1,020,597 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 16% from the previous session’s volume of 877,757 shares.The stock last traded at $67.04 and had previously closed at $66.82.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on HXL. Truist Financial lowered their price target on shares of Hexcel from $78.00 to $76.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 18th. StockNews.com raised shares of Hexcel from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Vertical Research lowered shares of Hexcel from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $65.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of Hexcel from $70.00 to $68.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded shares of Hexcel to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $71.33.

Hexcel Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 2.76, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.30. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $62.89 and its 200 day moving average price is $62.55.

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

Hexcel Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 1st were paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 1st. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.89%. Hexcel’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.80%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in HXL. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in Hexcel by 5.8% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 21,718 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,356,000 after buying an additional 1,197 shares during the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale lifted its stake in Hexcel by 487.6% during the second quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 4,683 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $296,000 after purchasing an additional 3,886 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Hexcel by 1.2% in the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 760,899 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $47,518,000 after purchasing an additional 9,367 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Hexcel by 8.0% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,406,287 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $87,829,000 after purchasing an additional 103,679 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its holdings in Hexcel by 155.6% during the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 231,300 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $14,445,000 after purchasing an additional 140,800 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.47% of the company’s stock.

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.