Comerica Bank Cuts Stake in Hexcel Co. (NYSE:HXL)

Comerica Bank decreased its holdings in Hexcel Co. (NYSE:HXL) by 22.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 182,008 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 52,979 shares during the period. Comerica Bank owned approximately 0.22% of Hexcel worth $13,259,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Corient Private Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of Hexcel by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 53,624 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $3,955,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. Xponance Inc. raised its holdings in Hexcel by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 10,251 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $756,000 after buying an additional 178 shares during the last quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Hexcel by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 7,440 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $542,000 after buying an additional 182 shares during the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in Hexcel by 6.9% during the 1st quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 2,915 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $212,000 after buying an additional 187 shares during the last quarter. Finally, New York State Teachers Retirement System raised its holdings in Hexcel by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 62,044 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $4,576,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.47% of the company’s stock.

Hexcel Stock Performance

NYSE HXL traded down $2.46 on Thursday, reaching $63.75. 389,927 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 939,291. Hexcel Co. has a one year low of $58.81 and a one year high of $77.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.21 billion, a PE ratio of 56.58, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.28. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $65.34 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $68.61. 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 (NYSE:HXL) last released its earnings results 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 net margin of 5.78% and a return on equity of 9.55%. The company had revenue of $500.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $484.26 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.50 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Hexcel Co. will post 2.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hexcel Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 2nd will be issued a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 2nd. Hexcel’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.28%.

Insider Transactions at Hexcel

In other Hexcel news, Director Catherine A. Suever purchased 400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were bought at an average price of $68.33 per share, with a total value of $27,332.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 15,748 shares in the company, valued at $1,076,060.84. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.39% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Hexcel from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $81.00 to $95.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $76.00 price objective on shares of Hexcel in a report on Friday, June 14th. Northcoast Research lowered shares of Hexcel from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Truist Financial decreased their price target on shares of Hexcel from $88.00 to $81.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Hexcel from $73.00 to $71.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $75.71.

About Hexcel

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.