Hexcel Corporation $HXL Position Lowered by Kopion Asset Management LLC

Kopion Asset Management LLC lessened its position in shares of Hexcel Corporation (NYSE:HXL) by 19.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 75,785 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 18,373 shares during the period. Hexcel comprises 4.0% of Kopion Asset Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest position. Kopion Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Hexcel were worth $5,601,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. MMA Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Hexcel during the third quarter worth $35,000. Optiver Holding B.V. increased its stake in Hexcel by 469.3% during the third quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 575 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 474 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Hexcel by 8,671.4% during the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 614 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 607 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Hexcel by 138.7% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 759 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 441 shares during the period. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its position in shares of Hexcel by 57.8% in the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 786 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 288 shares during the last quarter. 95.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HXL has been the subject of a number of research reports. BMO Capital Markets restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $85.00 target price on shares of Hexcel in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Hexcel from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Morgan Stanley raised Hexcel from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $67.00 to $90.00 in a report on Friday, January 30th. Truist Financial set a $94.00 price objective on Hexcel in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Bank of America raised Hexcel from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $60.00 to $95.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Hexcel has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $82.17.

Hexcel Price Performance

Shares of Hexcel stock opened at $78.61 on Friday. Hexcel Corporation has a 52 week low of $45.28 and a 52 week high of $95.22. The company has a current ratio of 2.26, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The stock has a market cap of $5.96 billion, a PE ratio of 56.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.01. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $85.63 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $75.02.

Hexcel (NYSE:HXL) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The aerospace company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $491.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $484.46 million. Hexcel had a net margin of 5.78% and a return on equity of 9.54%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.52 earnings per share. Hexcel has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.100-2.300 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Hexcel Corporation will post 2.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hexcel Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Investors of record on Monday, February 9th were given a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 9th. This is a positive change from Hexcel’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. Hexcel’s payout ratio is presently 52.17%.

Insider Transactions at Hexcel

In other Hexcel news, insider Amy S. Evans sold 1,500 shares of Hexcel stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 27th. The stock was 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. The trade was a 43.12% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.39% of the company’s stock.

Hexcel 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.