Hexcel Co. (NYSE:HXL) Short Interest Up 13.9% in January

Hexcel Co. (NYSE:HXL) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,040,000 shares, a growth of 13.9% from the December 31st total of 2,670,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 839,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.6 days. Currently, 3.8% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hexcel

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Speece Thorson Capital Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Hexcel by 15.6% during the 3rd quarter. Speece Thorson Capital Group Inc. now owns 244,873 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $15,140,000 after buying an additional 32,960 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC lifted its position in Hexcel by 32.1% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 70,023 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $4,330,000 after acquiring an additional 17,011 shares during the last quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. boosted its holdings in shares of Hexcel by 12.3% during the third quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 581,557 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $35,957,000 after acquiring an additional 63,730 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of Hexcel by 11.7% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 77,493 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $4,791,000 after purchasing an additional 8,135 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kopion Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Hexcel by 11.2% during the fourth quarter. Kopion Asset Management LLC now owns 97,960 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $6,142,000 after purchasing an additional 9,861 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.47% of the company’s stock.

Hexcel Stock Performance

NYSE HXL opened at $65.16 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a current ratio of 2.21, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $64.41 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $62.64. Hexcel has a 1 year low of $57.50 and a 1 year high of $77.09.

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, meeting 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, research analysts anticipate that Hexcel will post 2.16 EPS for the current year.

Hexcel Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. 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 1.04%. Hexcel’s payout ratio is presently 37.74%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on HXL shares. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Hexcel from $67.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. TD Cowen raised shares of Hexcel to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Vertical Research downgraded Hexcel from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $65.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on Hexcel from $70.00 to $68.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on Hexcel from $63.00 to $60.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Hexcel presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $73.09.

About Hexcel

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.