AGP Franklin LLC Raises Stock Position in Hexcel Corporation (NYSE:HXL)

AGP Franklin LLC boosted its position in shares of Hexcel Corporation (NYSE:HXL) by 176.4% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 34,420 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 21,965 shares during the quarter. AGP Franklin LLC’s holdings in Hexcel were worth $1,797,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Parvin Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Hexcel during the fourth quarter worth about $66,000. NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new position in Hexcel during the first quarter worth about $61,000. Huntington National Bank raised its stake in Hexcel by 21.4% during the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 1,159 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $73,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its stake in Hexcel by 71.2% during the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,200 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $66,000 after purchasing an additional 499 shares during the period. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. raised its stake in Hexcel by 61.8% during the fourth quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 1,272 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $80,000 after purchasing an additional 486 shares during the period. 95.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Hexcel Price Performance

Shares of HXL opened at $61.15 on Monday. Hexcel Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $45.28 and a fifty-two week high of $71.05. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $56.39 and its 200 day moving average price is $57.54. The company has a market cap of $4.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.62, a PEG ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a quick ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 2.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53.

Hexcel (NYSE:HXL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The aerospace company reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.04. Hexcel had a net margin of 4.69% and a return on equity of 9.76%. The firm had revenue of $489.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $482.20 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.60 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Hexcel Corporation will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hexcel Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.11%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 8th. Hexcel’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.96%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HXL has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Hexcel from $70.00 to $62.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Hexcel from $75.00 to $68.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Hexcel from $55.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Hexcel from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, April 27th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on shares of Hexcel from $72.00 to $52.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Hexcel currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $59.22.

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.