JPMorgan Chase & Co. Raises Stock Position in Hexcel Co. (NYSE:HXL)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in Hexcel Co. (NYSE:HXL) by 12.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,017,787 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 114,620 shares during the quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s holdings in Hexcel were worth $63,815,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Hexcel by 3.7% in the third 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. increased its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 202 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Hexcel by 21.1% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,181 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $74,000 after acquiring an additional 206 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its holdings in shares of Hexcel by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 43,511 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,728,000 after purchasing an additional 232 shares in the last quarter. Finally, M&T Bank Corp increased its position in shares of Hexcel by 5.8% in the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 5,200 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $325,000 after purchasing an additional 283 shares during the last quarter. 95.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Hexcel from $75.00 to $68.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Hexcel from $74.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com raised Hexcel from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Hexcel from $81.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded Hexcel to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $72.25.

Hexcel Price Performance

HXL opened at $48.27 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 2.21 and a quick ratio of 1.20. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $60.70 and its 200 day simple moving average is $61.89. The firm has a market cap of $3.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.36, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.08. Hexcel Co. has a 1 year low of $46.21 and a 1 year high of $73.58.

Hexcel (NYSE:HXL) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The aerospace company reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.52. Hexcel had a net margin of 6.94% and a return on equity of 10.66%. As a group, analysts predict that Hexcel Co. will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Hexcel Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a dividend of $0.17 per share. This is a positive change from Hexcel’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.41%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. Hexcel’s dividend payout ratio is currently 42.77%.

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.