Earnest Partners LLC Has $316.62 Million Stock Position in Hexcel Corporation $HXL

Earnest Partners LLC lowered its position in Hexcel Corporation (NYSE:HXL) by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 5,049,796 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 90,746 shares during the period. Hexcel makes up 1.4% of Earnest Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest holding. Earnest Partners LLC owned about 0.06% of Hexcel worth $316,622,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its position in shares of Hexcel by 122.7% during the third quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 4,849,941 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $304,091,000 after purchasing an additional 2,671,682 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in Hexcel by 103.8% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,759,673 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $155,894,000 after purchasing an additional 1,405,538 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Hexcel in the 2nd quarter valued at $57,697,000. Brandes Investment Partners LP increased its stake in Hexcel by 49.1% during the 2nd quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP now owns 2,440,242 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $137,850,000 after purchasing an additional 803,123 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. increased its stake in Hexcel by 92.8% during the 3rd quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 1,661,690 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $104,188,000 after purchasing an additional 799,695 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.47% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on HXL. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Hexcel in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Hexcel from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Hexcel from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $67.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Hexcel from $75.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, February 1st. Finally, Truist Financial set a $94.00 price objective on Hexcel in a report on Friday, January 30th. Three 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $82.17.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Hexcel news, insider Amy S. Evans sold 1,500 shares of Hexcel stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.80, for a total transaction of $139,200.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 1,979 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $183,651.20. This trade represents a 43.12% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.39% of the company’s stock.

Hexcel Price Performance

HXL opened at $79.02 on Friday. Hexcel Corporation has a 1 year low of $45.28 and a 1 year high of $95.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 2.26 and a quick ratio of 1.25. The company has a market capitalization of $5.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.01. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $85.46 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $74.62.

Hexcel (NYSE:HXL) last announced its earnings results 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 net margin of 5.78% and a return on equity of 9.54%. The company had revenue of $491.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $484.46 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.52 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. Hexcel has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.100-2.300 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Hexcel Corporation will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hexcel Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 9th were paid a $0.18 dividend. This is a positive change from Hexcel’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 9th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. Hexcel’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 52.17%.

About Hexcel

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.