Short Interest in Hexcel Co. (NYSE:HXL) Expands By 60.9%

Hexcel Co. (NYSE:HXL) saw a large growth in short interest in the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,140,000 shares, a growth of 60.9% from the October 15th total of 1,330,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 718,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.0 days. Approximately 2.7% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Hexcel Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE HXL opened at $59.54 on Friday. Hexcel has a 12-month low of $57.50 and a 12-month high of $77.09. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $61.12 and its 200 day simple moving average is $63.94. The company has a quick ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 2.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The company has a market cap of $4.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.30.

Hexcel (NYSE:HXL) last announced its earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The aerospace company reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 net margin of 5.73% and a return on equity of 9.99%. Hexcel’s quarterly revenue was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.38 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Hexcel will post 2.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hexcel Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 1st were paid a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 1st. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.01%. Hexcel’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 45.80%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hexcel

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new position in Hexcel during the 1st quarter valued at about $393,000. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its stake in Hexcel by 263.8% in the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 8,138 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $593,000 after acquiring an additional 5,901 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in Hexcel during the 1st quarter worth $119,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its holdings in Hexcel by 258.8% during the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 39,428 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,872,000 after acquiring an additional 28,439 shares during the period. Finally, US Bancorp DE raised its position in shares of Hexcel by 31.3% during the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 40,522 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,952,000 after acquiring an additional 9,655 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.47% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on HXL. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Hexcel from $67.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on shares of Hexcel from $64.00 to $63.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Vertical Research lowered shares of Hexcel from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $65.00 target price on the stock. in a research report 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 research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their price objective on Hexcel from $78.00 to $76.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $71.54.

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.