Bank of America Upgrades Hexcel (NYSE:HXL) to “Neutral”

Hexcel (NYSE:HXL) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Bank of America from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The firm currently has a $95.00 price objective on the aerospace company’s stock. Bank of America‘s price target suggests a potential upside of 8.04% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on HXL. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $85.00 price objective on shares of Hexcel in a report on Friday, January 30th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Hexcel in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Citigroup reiterated a “reduce” rating on shares of Hexcel in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Hexcel from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $67.00 to $90.00 in a report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, TD Cowen restated a “hold” rating on shares of Hexcel in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $82.17.

Hexcel Stock Up 1.2%

HXL opened at $87.93 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $7.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 63.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 2.26. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $79.31 and its 200 day moving average is $70.37. Hexcel has a fifty-two week low of $45.28 and a fifty-two week high of $89.00.

Hexcel (NYSE:HXL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The aerospace company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.02. Hexcel had a return on equity of 9.54% and a net margin of 5.78%.The business had revenue of $491.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $484.46 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.52 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. Hexcel has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.100-2.300 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Hexcel will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in HXL. New York State Common Retirement Fund boosted its position in Hexcel by 25.8% in the 3rd quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 421,980 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $26,458,000 after buying an additional 86,625 shares during the period. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH raised its stake in shares of Hexcel by 12.6% during the third quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH now owns 403,881 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $25,323,000 after acquiring an additional 45,061 shares in the last quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D raised its stake in shares of Hexcel by 16.7% during the second quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 36,171 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,043,000 after acquiring an additional 5,179 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Hexcel by 7.3% in the third quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 126,794 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $7,950,000 after purchasing an additional 8,661 shares during the period. Finally, AXQ Capital LP grew its stake in Hexcel by 101.1% in the second quarter. AXQ Capital LP now owns 16,446 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $929,000 after purchasing an additional 8,269 shares in the last quarter. 95.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Hexcel Company Profile

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.