Blue Trust Inc. Buys 454 Shares of Hexcel Co. (NYSE:HXL)

Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in Hexcel Co. (NYSE:HXL) by 8.0% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 6,158 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 454 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Hexcel were worth $381,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Hexcel by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,859 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $300,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in shares of Hexcel by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 14,766 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $926,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Hexcel by 21.1% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,181 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $74,000 after purchasing an additional 206 shares during the period. Huntington National Bank lifted its position in shares of Hexcel by 30.8% in the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 955 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 225 shares during the period. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its stake in shares of Hexcel by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 43,511 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,728,000 after acquiring an additional 232 shares in the last quarter. 95.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on HXL. Vertical Research lowered shares of 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. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Hexcel from $81.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Hexcel to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on shares of Hexcel from $63.00 to $60.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of Hexcel from $70.00 to $68.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Hexcel has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $73.09.

Hexcel Stock Performance

HXL opened at $65.16 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 2.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The company has a market cap of $5.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.98, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.30. Hexcel Co. has a 52-week low of $57.50 and a 52-week high of $77.09. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $64.41 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $62.68.

Hexcel (NYSE:HXL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The aerospace company reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.52. Hexcel had a net margin of 6.94% and a return on equity of 10.66%. Equities analysts anticipate that Hexcel Co. will post 2.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hexcel Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.04%. This is an increase from Hexcel’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. Hexcel’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.74%.

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.