Ceredex Value Advisors LLC Purchases 251,062 Shares of Hexcel Co. (NYSE:HXL)

Ceredex Value Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Hexcel Co. (NYSE:HXL) by 34.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 973,352 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 251,062 shares during the period. Hexcel accounts for 1.2% of Ceredex Value Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC owned 1.20% of Hexcel worth $60,182,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Hexcel by 277.9% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,695,343 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $105,874,000 after buying an additional 1,246,765 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Hexcel by 307.1% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,079,598 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $67,421,000 after acquiring an additional 814,402 shares during the last quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. raised its position in shares of Hexcel by 215.5% in the 2nd quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 865,235 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $54,034,000 after purchasing an additional 590,975 shares during the last quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. boosted its stake in Hexcel by 114.4% in the 1st quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 436,321 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $31,786,000 after purchasing an additional 232,827 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in Hexcel by 151.5% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 344,342 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $25,086,000 after purchasing an additional 207,434 shares during the last quarter. 95.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on HXL shares. Vertical Research downgraded Hexcel from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $65.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Hexcel from $77.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. StockNews.com raised shares of Hexcel from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Hexcel from $63.00 to $61.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on shares of Hexcel from $70.00 to $68.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 28th. Two research 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 MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $71.54.

Hexcel Price Performance

HXL stock opened at $58.86 on Friday. Hexcel Co. has a 1 year low of $57.50 and a 1 year high of $77.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 2.76 and a quick ratio of 1.51. The business’s 50-day moving average is $61.40 and its two-hundred day moving average is $64.09.

Hexcel (NYSE:HXL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 21st. The aerospace company reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $457.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $457.07 million. Hexcel had a net margin of 5.73% and a return on equity of 9.99%. Hexcel’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.38 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Hexcel Co. will post 2.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hexcel Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 1st will be given a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 1st. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.02%. Hexcel’s payout ratio is 45.80%.

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.