Hexcel (NYSE:HXL) Hits New 52-Week Low – Time to Sell?

Hexcel Co. (NYSE:HXL)’s share price reached a new 52-week low on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $58.47 and last traded at $58.74, with a volume of 15273 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $59.51.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on HXL. Royal Bank of Canada downgraded Hexcel from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $76.00 to $68.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. UBS Group reduced their target price on Hexcel from $73.00 to $71.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on shares of Hexcel from $65.00 to $62.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Hexcel from $63.00 to $61.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their price objective on shares of Hexcel from $88.00 to $81.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $74.00.

Hexcel Stock Down 1.0 %

The company has a market capitalization of $4.90 billion, a PE ratio of 50.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.29. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $61.80 and its 200-day simple moving average is $65.03. The company has a current ratio of 2.75, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51.

Hexcel (NYSE:HXL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The aerospace company reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.56 by $0.04. Hexcel had a return on equity of 9.55% and a net margin of 5.78%. The company had revenue of $500.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $484.26 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.50 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Hexcel Co. will post 2.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hexcel Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 2nd. Hexcel’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.28%.

Institutional Trading of Hexcel

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in shares of Hexcel by 151.5% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 344,342 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $25,086,000 after acquiring an additional 207,434 shares during the period. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Hexcel by 32.2% during the 1st quarter. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC now owns 80,953 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $5,897,000 after buying an additional 19,736 shares during the period. Seven Eight Capital LP purchased a new position in shares of Hexcel during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,109,000. Capital World Investors grew its stake in Hexcel by 16.4% in the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 885,547 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $64,512,000 after acquiring an additional 124,900 shares during the period. Finally, Speece Thorson Capital Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Hexcel by 71.6% during the fourth quarter. Speece Thorson Capital Group Inc. now owns 179,670 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $13,251,000 after purchasing an additional 74,957 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.