Retirement Systems of Alabama Sells 3,278 Shares of Hexcel Co. (NYSE:HXL)

Retirement Systems of Alabama reduced its position in shares of Hexcel Co. (NYSE:HXL) by 3.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 99,304 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 3,278 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama owned 0.12% of Hexcel worth $6,140,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Hexcel by 277.9% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,695,343 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $105,874,000 after buying an additional 1,246,765 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC increased its position 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 valued at $67,421,000 after acquiring an additional 814,402 shares during the last quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. lifted its holdings in Hexcel by 215.5% during the second quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 865,235 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $54,034,000 after acquiring an additional 590,975 shares during the period. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC boosted its position in Hexcel by 280.7% in the second quarter. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC now owns 722,290 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $45,107,000 after purchasing an additional 532,550 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in Hexcel by 36.2% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,600,619 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $98,966,000 after purchasing an additional 425,402 shares during the last quarter. 95.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Hexcel Trading Down 3.1 %

Shares of Hexcel stock opened at $61.61 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $61.86 and its 200-day moving average price is $62.64. The company has a market cap of $4.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.03, a PEG ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.30. Hexcel Co. has a 12-month low of $57.50 and a 12-month high of $77.09. The company has a current ratio of 2.76, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51.

Hexcel (NYSE:HXL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The aerospace company reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.01. Hexcel had a net margin of 5.73% and a return on equity of 9.99%. The firm had revenue of $457.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $457.07 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.38 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Hexcel Co. will post 2.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hexcel Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 1st were issued a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 1st. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.97%. Hexcel’s payout ratio is currently 45.80%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on Hexcel from $63.00 to $60.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. StockNews.com raised shares of Hexcel from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Hexcel from $67.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Hexcel from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on Hexcel from $70.00 to $68.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $70.83.

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.