UBS Group Trims Hexcel (NYSE:HXL) Target Price to $73.00

Hexcel (NYSE:HXL) had its price objective decreased by UBS Group from $77.00 to $73.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “neutral” rating on the aerospace company’s stock. UBS Group’s price objective points to a potential upside of 16.00% from the stock’s current price.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Hexcel from $69.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. StockNews.com downgraded Hexcel from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 3rd. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Hexcel from $69.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Hexcel from $90.00 to $86.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, Bank of America restated an “underperform” rating and issued a $65.00 target price (down previously from $75.00) on shares of Hexcel in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $76.57.

Hexcel Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of Hexcel stock traded down $0.64 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $62.93. 706,036 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 895,739. Hexcel has a twelve month low of $58.81 and a twelve month high of $79.08. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $71.02 and a 200-day moving average price of $69.52. The company has a quick ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 2.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.23.

Hexcel (NYSE:HXL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The aerospace company reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.44. Hexcel had a return on equity of 8.91% and a net margin of 5.52%. The company had revenue of $472.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $468.93 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.50 EPS. Hexcel’s revenue was up 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Hexcel will post 2.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Hexcel news, insider Thierry Merlot sold 4,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.63, for a total transaction of $322,335.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 50,371 shares in the company, valued at $3,608,074.73. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, insider Gina Fitzsimons sold 864 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.10, for a total value of $62,294.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 3,375 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $243,337.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Thierry Merlot sold 4,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.63, for a total transaction of $322,335.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 50,371 shares in the company, valued at $3,608,074.73. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.85% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in HXL. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Hexcel by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,846,871 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $578,707,000 after buying an additional 27,850 shares during the period. Earnest Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Hexcel by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 4,344,230 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $282,983,000 after purchasing an additional 47,591 shares in the last quarter. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Hexcel by 93.0% in the fourth quarter. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC now owns 1,503,055 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $110,850,000 after purchasing an additional 724,280 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in Hexcel by 143.6% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,466,380 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $108,146,000 after purchasing an additional 864,405 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Westfield Capital Management Co. LP grew its stake in Hexcel by 18.8% during the third quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 1,462,293 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $95,254,000 after buying an additional 231,207 shares in the last quarter. 95.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.