Principal Financial Group Inc. Lowers Holdings in Hexcel Co. (NYSE:HXL)

Principal Financial Group Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Hexcel Co. (NYSE:HXL) by 1.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 185,743 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 3,662 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.23% of Hexcel worth $11,646,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in shares of Hexcel by 36.2% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,600,619 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $98,966,000 after purchasing an additional 425,402 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Hexcel by 1.0% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,060,727 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $65,585,000 after acquiring an additional 10,479 shares during the last quarter. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Hexcel by 34.8% in the 3rd quarter. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC now owns 973,352 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $60,182,000 after acquiring an additional 251,062 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its holdings in shares of Hexcel by 52.1% in the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 586,217 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $36,246,000 after acquiring an additional 200,722 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. boosted its position in shares of Hexcel by 12.3% during the 3rd quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 581,557 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $35,957,000 after purchasing an additional 63,730 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.47% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HXL has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Hexcel from $81.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on Hexcel from $63.00 to $60.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 21st. TD Cowen upgraded Hexcel to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Hexcel from $74.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Hexcel from $76.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $73.09.

Hexcel Stock Performance

Shares of Hexcel stock opened at $62.26 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $64.81 and a 200-day simple moving average of $62.82. 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 one year low of $57.50 and a one year high of $77.09. The company has a market cap of $5.05 billion, a PE ratio of 39.16, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.31.

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

Hexcel Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a $0.17 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. This is a boost from Hexcel’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.09%. Hexcel’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.