Willis Investment Counsel Purchases 362 Shares of Hexcel Co. (NYSE:HXL)

Willis Investment Counsel lifted its position in Hexcel Co. (NYSE:HXL) by 2.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,850 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 362 shares during the quarter. Willis Investment Counsel’s holdings in Hexcel were worth $1,056,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of HXL. Speece Thorson Capital Group Inc. grew its position 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 valued at $15,140,000 after purchasing an additional 32,960 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC grew 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 buying an additional 17,011 shares in the last quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. raised its holdings in shares of Hexcel by 12.3% in the 3rd quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 581,557 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $35,957,000 after acquiring an additional 63,730 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of Hexcel by 11.7% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 77,493 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $4,791,000 after acquiring an additional 8,135 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kopion Asset Management LLC grew its holdings 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.47% of the company’s stock.

Hexcel Stock Performance

Hexcel stock opened at $65.16 on Monday. Hexcel Co. has a 1-year low of $57.50 and a 1-year high of $77.09. The firm has a market cap of $5.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.98, a P/E/G ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.31. 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 has a 50-day moving average of $64.41 and a 200-day moving average of $62.64.

Hexcel (NYSE:HXL) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The aerospace company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52. Hexcel had a return on equity of 10.66% and a net margin of 6.94%. Sell-side analysts expect that Hexcel Co. will post 2.16 EPS for the current year.

Hexcel Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th will be given a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.04%. This is a boost from Hexcel’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. Hexcel’s payout ratio is currently 37.74%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on HXL shares. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Hexcel from $76.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. UBS Group increased their target price on Hexcel from $67.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Vertical Research lowered Hexcel from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $65.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on Hexcel from $63.00 to $60.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Hexcel from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $73.09.

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.