Hexcel Co. (NYSE:HXL) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Hexcel Co. (NYSE:HXL) saw a significant growth in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 3,040,000 shares, a growth of 13.9% from the December 15th total of 2,670,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 839,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.6 days. Currently, 3.8% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Hexcel Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of HXL opened at $66.32 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a current ratio of 2.76. Hexcel has a one year low of $57.50 and a one year high of $77.09. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $62.98 and a 200 day moving average price of $62.55. The company has a market capitalization of $5.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.63, a P/E/G ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.30.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on HXL. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Hexcel from $67.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Royal Bank of Canada raised shares of Hexcel from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the company from $68.00 to $74.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on shares of Hexcel from $63.00 to $60.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. TD Cowen upgraded Hexcel to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Hexcel from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $71.33.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HXL. True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hexcel in the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in Hexcel in the third quarter worth about $56,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Hexcel by 53.8% in the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 932 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $58,000 after buying an additional 326 shares during the last quarter. Huntington National Bank raised its stake in Hexcel by 30.8% during the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 955 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $59,000 after buying an additional 225 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Eastern Bank bought a new position in Hexcel during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $62,000. 95.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.