Hexcel (NYSE:HXL) Issues FY 2024 Earnings Guidance

Hexcel (NYSE:HXL) issued an update on its FY 2024 earnings guidance on Tuesday morning. The company provided EPS guidance of 2.100-2.300 for the period, compared to the consensus EPS estimate of 2.230. The company issued revenue guidance of $1.9 billion-$2.0 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $2.0 billion. Hexcel also updated its FY24 guidance to $2.10-2.30 EPS.

Hexcel Stock Performance

Shares of HXL stock traded down $0.34 on Tuesday, reaching $71.15. The stock had a trading volume of 988,571 shares, compared to its average volume of 740,852. The company has a quick ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 2.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $72.44 and its two-hundred day moving average is $69.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.23. Hexcel has a 12 month low of $58.81 and a 12 month high of $79.08.

Hexcel (NYSE:HXL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The aerospace company reported $0.43 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.49 by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $457.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $474.01 million. Hexcel had a net margin of 5.91% and a return on equity of 9.31%. The firm’s revenue was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.40 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Hexcel will post 2.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hexcel Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 9th were issued a $0.15 dividend. This is a boost from Hexcel’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.84%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 8th. Hexcel’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.39%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on HXL shares. UBS Group lowered shares of Hexcel from a buy rating to a neutral rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $87.00 to $72.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Hexcel from a sell rating to a neutral rating and increased their target price for the stock from $57.00 to $70.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an outperform rating and set a $80.00 target price on shares of Hexcel in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Hexcel from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Finally, Truist Financial upgraded shares of Hexcel from a hold rating to a buy rating and increased their target price for the stock from $62.00 to $96.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $77.46.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Thierry Merlot sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.63, for a total transaction of $322,335.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 50,371 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,608,074.73. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Hexcel news, insider Thierry Merlot sold 4,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.63, for a total value of $322,335.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 50,371 shares in the company, valued at $3,608,074.73. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Gina Fitzsimons sold 864 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.10, for a total transaction of $62,294.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 3,375 shares in the company, valued at approximately $243,337.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.85% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Hexcel

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Morgan Stanley raised its stake in shares of Hexcel by 838.6% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 6,810,199 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $400,780,000 after acquiring an additional 6,084,592 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Hexcel during the fourth quarter valued at $56,738,000. BlackRock Inc. raised its stake in shares of Hexcel by 6.0% during the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 8,420,295 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $500,755,000 after acquiring an additional 475,375 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Hexcel by 11.2% during the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,409,631 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $202,771,000 after acquiring an additional 344,711 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Citadel Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Hexcel by 272.1% during the second quarter. Citadel Advisors LLC now owns 433,360 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $22,669,000 after acquiring an additional 316,896 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.47% of the company’s stock.

About Hexcel

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.