MQS Management LLC Invests $383,000 in Hexcel Co. (NYSE:HXL)

MQS Management LLC purchased a new stake in Hexcel Co. (NYSE:HXL) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 6,138 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $383,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in Hexcel in the first quarter valued at about $36,000. Principal Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Hexcel in the fourth quarter valued at about $51,000. Centerpoint Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Hexcel by 44.6% during the 1st quarter. Centerpoint Advisors LLC now owns 723 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 223 shares during the last quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. acquired a new position in Hexcel during the first quarter worth $54,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Hexcel by 34.8% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,068 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $67,000 after purchasing an additional 276 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 95.47% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on Hexcel from $70.00 to $68.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, June 28th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Hexcel from $63.00 to $61.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada cut shares of Hexcel from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $76.00 to $68.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on Hexcel from $73.00 to $71.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 19th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Hexcel from $86.00 to $84.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Hexcel has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $74.54.

Hexcel Trading Up 1.2 %

NYSE HXL opened at $61.21 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.09 billion, a PE ratio of 52.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.29. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $62.90 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $66.32. 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 Co. has a 12 month low of $58.54 and a 12 month high of $77.09.

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

Hexcel Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 2nd were paid a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 2nd. Hexcel’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 51.28%.

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.