KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Purchases Shares of 17,300 Hexcel Co. (NYSE:HXL)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new position in shares of Hexcel Co. (NYSE:HXL) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund acquired 17,300 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,085,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Brandes Investment Partners LP boosted its stake in Hexcel by 99.6% in the 4th quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP now owns 1,304,669 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $81,803,000 after purchasing an additional 651,062 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its position in shares of Hexcel by 249.6% during the fourth quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 815,658 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $51,142,000 after buying an additional 582,353 shares during the period. DAVENPORT & Co LLC boosted its position in shares of Hexcel by 1,153.9% during the fourth quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 535,962 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $33,546,000 after buying an additional 493,218 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Hexcel by 66.9% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,198,136 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $75,123,000 after buying an additional 480,207 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TimesSquare Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Hexcel in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $14,148,000. 95.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on HXL shares. TD Cowen raised shares of Hexcel to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Truist Financial decreased their target price on shares of Hexcel from $85.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Hexcel from $81.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Hexcel from $74.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Hexcel from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $72.64.

Hexcel Price Performance

NYSE:HXL opened at $56.28 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 2.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. Hexcel Co. has a 12-month low of $55.25 and a 12-month high of $73.58. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $62.23 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $62.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.30.

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

Hexcel Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a $0.17 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.21%. This is a positive change from Hexcel’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. Hexcel’s dividend payout ratio is 42.77%.

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.