Hexcel Co. (NYSE:HXL) Short Interest Up 13.9% in December

Hexcel Co. (NYSE:HXL) saw a large increase in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 3,040,000 shares, an increase of 13.9% from the December 15th total of 2,670,000 shares. Currently, 3.8% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 839,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.6 days.

Hexcel Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:HXL opened at $66.32 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $5.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.63, a PEG ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.30. Hexcel has a 12 month low of $57.50 and a 12 month high of $77.09. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $62.98 and its 200 day simple moving average is $62.55. The company has a quick ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 2.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51.

Hexcel (NYSE:HXL) last issued 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. The company had revenue of $457.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $457.07 million. Hexcel had a return on equity of 9.99% and a net margin of 5.73%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.38 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Hexcel will post 2.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hexcel

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of HXL. True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new stake in Hexcel in the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in shares of Hexcel in the 3rd quarter valued at about $56,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Hexcel by 53.8% in the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 932 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $58,000 after acquiring an additional 326 shares during the last quarter. Huntington National Bank raised its holdings in Hexcel by 30.8% during the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 955 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $59,000 after acquiring an additional 225 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Eastern Bank acquired a new position in Hexcel during the third quarter valued at approximately $62,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.47% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Hexcel from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $68.00 to $74.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Hexcel to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Truist Financial reduced their price target on Hexcel from $78.00 to $76.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Vertical Research cut Hexcel from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $65.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Hexcel from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $71.33.

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.