Channing Capital Management LLC Has $69.46 Million Stake in Hexcel Co. (NYSE:HXL)

Channing Capital Management LLC trimmed its holdings in Hexcel Co. (NYSE:HXL) by 8.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 941,772 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 84,404 shares during the period. Hexcel accounts for 2.0% of Channing Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd largest position. Channing Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Hexcel were worth $69,456,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in HXL. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Hexcel by 22.1% in the third quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 8,774 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $572,000 after acquiring an additional 1,589 shares during the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. increased its stake in Hexcel by 38.3% in the third quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 74,563 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $4,857,000 after acquiring an additional 20,638 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its stake in Hexcel by 21.2% in the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 17,199 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,120,000 after acquiring an additional 3,004 shares during the last quarter. Strs Ohio increased its stake in Hexcel by 14.6% in the third quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 20,569 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,339,000 after acquiring an additional 2,620 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Advisor Partners II LLC increased its stake in Hexcel by 61.4% in the third quarter. Advisor Partners II LLC now owns 9,259 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $603,000 after acquiring an additional 3,524 shares during the last quarter. 95.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on HXL. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Hexcel from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Morgan Stanley cut shares of Hexcel from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $70.00 to $66.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Hexcel from $69.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Bank of America reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and set a $65.00 target price (down previously from $75.00) on shares of Hexcel in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Hexcel from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $76.57.

Hexcel Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of HXL traded up $0.29 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $68.16. 1,255,995 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,633,270. Hexcel Co. has a fifty-two week low of $58.81 and a fifty-two week high of $79.08. The business has a 50-day moving average of $69.74 and a 200-day moving average of $69.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 2.74 and a quick ratio of 1.51.

Hexcel (NYSE:HXL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The aerospace company reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.44. Hexcel had a return on equity of 8.97% and a net margin of 5.52%. The firm had revenue of $472.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $468.93 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.50 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Hexcel Co. will post 2.22 EPS for the current year.

Hexcel Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 3rd will be paid a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.88%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 2nd. Hexcel’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.28%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Tom Gentile bought 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were bought at an average price of $66.25 per share, for a total transaction of $993,750.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 15,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $993,750. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Tom Gentile bought 15,000 shares of Hexcel stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was bought at an average cost of $66.25 per share, for a total transaction of $993,750.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 15,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $993,750. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Thierry Merlot sold 4,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.63, for a total value of $322,335.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 50,371 shares in the company, valued at $3,608,074.73. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have acquired 43,000 shares of company stock worth $2,792,990. Corporate insiders own 1.39% of the company’s stock.

Hexcel Company 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.