Hexcel (NYSE:HXL) Shares Up 3.4% After Earnings Beat

Hexcel Co. (NYSE:HXL) shot up 3.4% during trading on Tuesday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock traded as high as $66.98 and last traded at $65.75. 351,852 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 59% from the average session volume of 862,886 shares. The stock had previously closed at $63.60.

The aerospace company reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $457.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $457.07 million. Hexcel had a return on equity of 9.55% and a net margin of 5.78%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.38 earnings per share.

Hexcel Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 1st will be given a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 1st. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.96%. Hexcel’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.28%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on HXL. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Hexcel from $63.00 to $61.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Hexcel from $77.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada downgraded Hexcel from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $76.00 to $68.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Hexcel from $73.00 to $71.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 1st. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Hexcel from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Hexcel has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $71.77.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hexcel

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hexcel in the first quarter valued at $36,000. Centerpoint Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Hexcel by 44.6% in the first quarter. Centerpoint Advisors LLC now owns 723 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 223 shares in the last quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Hexcel in the first quarter valued at $54,000. Eastern Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Hexcel in the third quarter valued at $62,000. 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 owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Hexcel Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 2.75 and a quick ratio of 1.55. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $61.64 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $64.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.59, a PEG ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.29.

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.