Vanguard Group Inc. Sells 35,337 Shares of Hexcel Co. (NYSE:HXL)

Vanguard Group Inc. trimmed its position in Hexcel Co. (NYSE:HXL) by 0.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 7,589,305 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 35,337 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 9.35% of Hexcel worth $475,849,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of HXL. Allworth Financial LP lifted its stake in Hexcel by 1,069.8% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 620 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 567 shares in the last quarter. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI acquired a new stake in shares of Hexcel in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Manchester Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Hexcel by 100.0% in the fourth quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 840 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 420 shares in the last quarter. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in Hexcel during the fourth quarter worth $57,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Hexcel by 21.1% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,181 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $74,000 after purchasing an additional 206 shares in the last quarter. 95.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HXL has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Hexcel from $75.00 to $68.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. TD Cowen upgraded Hexcel to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Hexcel from $74.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com raised shares of Hexcel from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Hexcel from $81.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Hexcel has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $72.25.

Hexcel Price Performance

Hexcel stock opened at $54.71 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $4.40 billion, a PE ratio of 34.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 2.21 and a quick ratio of 1.20. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $61.72 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $62.09. Hexcel Co. has a one year low of $54.10 and a one year high of $73.58.

Hexcel (NYSE:HXL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The aerospace company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52. Hexcel had a return on equity of 10.66% and a net margin of 6.94%. As a group, research analysts expect that Hexcel Co. will post 2.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hexcel Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were given a dividend of $0.17 per share. This is a positive change from Hexcel’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.24%. Hexcel’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 42.77%.

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.