Ceredex Value Advisors LLC Sells 120,552 Shares of Hexcel Corporation $HXL

Ceredex Value Advisors LLC trimmed its position in Hexcel Corporation (NYSE:HXL) by 15.7% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 649,300 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 120,552 shares during the quarter. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC’s holdings in Hexcel were worth $40,711,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of HXL. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its position in shares of Hexcel by 325.0% during the second quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 493 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 377 shares in the last quarter. MMA Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hexcel in the 3rd quarter worth $35,000. Optiver Holding B.V. boosted its position in shares of Hexcel by 469.3% in the 3rd quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 575 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 474 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Hexcel by 8,671.4% during the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 614 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 607 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in Hexcel by 138.7% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 759 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 441 shares in the last quarter. 95.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Hexcel Stock Down 1.8%

HXL stock opened at $87.02 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $6.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 63.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.01. Hexcel Corporation has a 12 month low of $45.28 and a 12 month high of $95.22. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $84.79 and its 200-day simple moving average is $74.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 2.26 and a quick ratio of 1.25.

Hexcel (NYSE:HXL) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The aerospace company reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.02. Hexcel had a net margin of 5.78% and a return on equity of 9.54%. The firm had revenue of $491.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $484.46 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.52 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Hexcel has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.100-2.300 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Hexcel Corporation will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Hexcel Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 9th were issued a $0.18 dividend. This is a boost from Hexcel’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 9th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Hexcel’s payout ratio is presently 52.17%.

Insider Activity at Hexcel

In other news, insider Amy S. Evans sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.80, for a total value of $139,200.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 1,979 shares in the company, valued at $183,651.20. This represents a 43.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 2.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on HXL. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Hexcel from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $85.00 price target on shares of Hexcel in a report on Friday, January 30th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Hexcel in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Hexcel from $67.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, Bank of America raised Hexcel from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the company from $60.00 to $95.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Hexcel presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $82.17.

About Hexcel

Hexcel Corporation is a global leader in advanced composite materials for aerospace and industrial applications. The company specializes in the development and manufacture of lightweight, high-performance products that enhance fuel efficiency, durability and structural strength. Its offerings are critical to the aerospace sector, where demand for lighter, more efficient aircraft drives continuous innovation in materials.

Hexcel’s product portfolio encompasses carbon fiber reinforcements, pre-impregnated composites (prepregs), honeycomb core, engineered adhesives and structural film adhesives.