Hexcel Co. (NYSE:HXL) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Hexcel Co. (NYSE:HXL) saw a significant growth in short interest in September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,370,000 shares, a growth of 6.2% from the August 31st total of 1,290,000 shares. Approximately 1.7% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 799,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.7 days.

Hexcel Trading Down 1.6 %

Shares of HXL stock traded down $0.99 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $60.84. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 665,710 shares, compared to its average volume of 877,779. The company has a quick ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 2.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.06 billion, a PE ratio of 52.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.29. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $62.21 and its 200-day simple moving average is $65.53. Hexcel has a 12-month low of $58.54 and a 12-month high of $77.09.

Hexcel (NYSE:HXL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 18th. The aerospace company reported $0.60 EPS 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 company had revenue of $500.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $484.26 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.50 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Hexcel will post 2.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hexcel Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 2nd were given a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.99%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 2nd. Hexcel’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.28%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on HXL. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of Hexcel from $71.00 to $70.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Truist Financial dropped their price target on Hexcel from $88.00 to $81.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Hexcel from $73.00 to $71.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on Hexcel from $70.00 to $68.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Hexcel from $63.00 to $61.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Hexcel has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $74.46.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in HXL. Summit Financial LLC lifted its holdings in Hexcel by 2.9% in the 2nd quarter. Summit Financial LLC now owns 5,357 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $335,000 after buying an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Hexcel by 2.5% in the first quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 7,440 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $542,000 after acquiring an additional 182 shares in the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in Hexcel by 6.9% in the first quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 2,915 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $212,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares during the last quarter. Centerpoint Advisors LLC grew its stake in Hexcel by 44.6% during the 1st quarter. Centerpoint Advisors LLC now owns 723 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 223 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Hexcel by 34.8% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,068 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $67,000 after purchasing an additional 276 shares during the last quarter. 95.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.