Cerity Partners LLC Acquires 1,957 Shares of Hexcel Co. (NYSE:HXL)

Cerity Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Hexcel Co. (NYSE:HXL) by 60.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,186 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,957 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in Hexcel were worth $382,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CENTRAL TRUST Co boosted its stake in shares of Hexcel by 68.1% during the 3rd quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 442 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 179 shares during the last quarter. RiverPark Advisors LLC bought a new position in Hexcel in the third quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI increased its position in shares of Hexcel by 110.2% during the 3rd quarter. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI now owns 641 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 336 shares during the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hexcel during the 4th quarter worth approximately $201,000. Finally, B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Hexcel by 25.0% in the 3rd quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 3,367 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $219,000 after buying an additional 673 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.47% of the company’s stock.

Hexcel Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE HXL opened at $64.13 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 2.74 and a quick ratio of 1.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $70.41 and a 200-day moving average price of $69.42. Hexcel Co. has a 1 year low of $58.81 and a 1 year high of $79.08.

Hexcel (NYSE:HXL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The aerospace company reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.44. The company had revenue of $472.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $468.93 million. Hexcel had a net margin of 5.52% and a return on equity of 8.97%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.50 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Hexcel Co. will post 2.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hexcel Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 2nd. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.94%. Hexcel’s payout ratio is 51.28%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Hexcel news, insider Gina Fitzsimons sold 864 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.10, for a total transaction of $62,294.40. Following the sale, the insider now owns 3,375 shares in the company, valued at $243,337.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, insider Gina Fitzsimons sold 864 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.10, for a total transaction of $62,294.40. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,375 shares in the company, valued at approximately $243,337.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Thierry Merlot sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.63, for a total value of $322,335.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 50,371 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,608,074.73. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.39% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on HXL shares. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Hexcel from $77.00 to $73.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Northcoast Research downgraded Hexcel from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Hexcel from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Bank of America reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and issued a $65.00 price target (down previously from $75.00) on shares of Hexcel in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut shares of Hexcel from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $70.00 to $66.00 in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $76.57.

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.