Hexcel (NYSE:HXL) Upgraded by Wells Fargo & Company to “Overweight”

Hexcel (NYSE:HXL) was upgraded by stock analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report issued on Wednesday, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage presently has a $95.00 price target on the aerospace company’s stock, up from their previous price target of $81.00. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price target suggests a potential upside of 33.46% from the stock’s previous close.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the stock. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Hexcel from $69.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Hexcel from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $70.00 to $66.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. Northcoast Research lowered Hexcel from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Hexcel from $69.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Bank of America reiterated an “underperform” rating and set a $65.00 target price (down from $75.00) on shares of Hexcel in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Hexcel has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $77.57.

Hexcel Stock Up 1.1 %

HXL opened at $71.18 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $69.58 and a 200 day moving average of $69.50. The company has a current ratio of 2.74, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. Hexcel has a 12 month low of $58.81 and a 12 month high of $79.08. The company has a market cap of $5.92 billion, a PE ratio of 60.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.25.

Hexcel (NYSE:HXL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The aerospace company reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.44. Hexcel had a return on equity of 8.97% 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 previous year, the business earned $0.50 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Hexcel will post 2.22 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hexcel news, CEO Nick L. Stanage purchased 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 26th. The stock was bought at an average price of $64.29 per share, with a total value of $964,350.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 392,446 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,230,353.34. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell bought 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 25th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $64.13 per share, with a total value of $641,300.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 17,803 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,141,706.39. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Nick L. Stanage purchased 15,000 shares of Hexcel stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 26th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $64.29 per share, for a total transaction of $964,350.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 392,446 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,230,353.34. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders acquired 43,400 shares of company stock worth $2,820,322. 1.85% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Hexcel by 22.1% in the third quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 8,774 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $572,000 after acquiring an additional 1,589 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its stake in Hexcel by 21.2% during the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 17,199 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,120,000 after purchasing an additional 3,004 shares in the last quarter. Strs Ohio raised its holdings in Hexcel by 14.6% in the third quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 20,569 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,339,000 after buying an additional 2,620 shares during the last quarter. Advisor Partners II LLC lifted its stake in shares of Hexcel by 61.4% in the third quarter. Advisor Partners II LLC now owns 9,259 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $603,000 after buying an additional 3,524 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CENTRAL TRUST Co grew its holdings in shares of Hexcel by 68.1% during the third quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 442 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 179 shares during the last quarter. 95.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.