Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Decreases Stake in Hexcel Co. (NYSE:HXL)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System lessened its stake in shares of Hexcel Co. (NYSE:HXL) by 0.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 22,500 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 200 shares during the quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Hexcel were worth $1,411,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new position in Hexcel during the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in Hexcel during the 3rd quarter valued at about $56,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Hexcel by 53.8% during the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 932 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 326 shares in the last quarter. Huntington National Bank increased its stake in Hexcel by 30.8% during the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 955 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 225 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Eastern Bank purchased a new position in Hexcel in the third quarter worth about $62,000. Institutional investors own 95.47% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on HXL shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Hexcel from $81.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Hexcel from $67.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Hexcel from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on shares of Hexcel from $70.00 to $68.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Hexcel from $74.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $73.09.

Hexcel Trading Up 2.1 %

Shares of Hexcel stock opened at $65.56 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.23, a PEG ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.31. The company’s fifty day moving average is $64.75 and its two-hundred day moving average is $62.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a current ratio of 2.21. Hexcel Co. has a 1 year low of $57.50 and a 1 year high of $77.09.

Hexcel (NYSE:HXL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The aerospace company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52. Hexcel had a net margin of 6.94% and a return on equity of 10.66%. Analysts forecast that Hexcel Co. will post 2.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Hexcel Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a dividend of $0.17 per share. This is an increase from Hexcel’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. Hexcel’s payout ratio is currently 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.