Hexcel Co. (NYSE:HXL) Stake Boosted by Van ECK Associates Corp

Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in shares of Hexcel Co. (NYSE:HXL) by 308.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 33,001 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 24,920 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Hexcel were worth $2,069,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its position in Hexcel by 17.8% in the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 4,713 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $296,000 after acquiring an additional 713 shares during the period. Willis Investment Counsel increased its position in Hexcel by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Willis Investment Counsel now owns 16,850 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,056,000 after acquiring an additional 362 shares during the period. DAVENPORT & Co LLC increased its position in Hexcel by 1,153.9% in the 4th quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 535,962 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $33,546,000 after acquiring an additional 493,218 shares during the period. OLD National Bancorp IN increased its position in Hexcel by 20.3% in the 4th quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 4,091 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $257,000 after acquiring an additional 691 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV increased its position in Hexcel by 57.6% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,568 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $224,000 after acquiring an additional 1,304 shares during the period. 95.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on HXL shares. UBS Group raised their target price on Hexcel from $67.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on Hexcel from $63.00 to $60.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Hexcel from $74.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. TD Cowen upgraded Hexcel to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Hexcel from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $73.09.

Hexcel Stock Performance

HXL opened at $64.09 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $5.20 billion, a PE ratio of 40.31, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a quick ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 2.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $64.91 and a 200-day simple moving average of $62.79. Hexcel Co. has a fifty-two week low of $57.50 and a fifty-two week high of $77.09.

Hexcel (NYSE:HXL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The aerospace company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.52. Hexcel had a return on equity of 10.66% and a net margin of 6.94%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Hexcel Co. will post 2.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hexcel Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th were given a $0.17 dividend. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.06%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. This is a boost from Hexcel’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. Hexcel’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 42.77%.

Hexcel 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.