StockNews.com lowered shares of Hexcel (NYSE:HXL – Get Rating) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Thursday.

Several other brokerages also recently weighed in on HXL. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Hexcel to $63.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 27th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Hexcel from an underweight rating to an equal weight rating and upped their target price for the company from $59.00 to $68.00 in a research note on Thursday, September 8th. Vertical Research upped their target price on shares of Hexcel to $60.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 27th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Hexcel from $57.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a market perform rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $59.20.

Hexcel Price Performance

HXL opened at $56.86 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 2.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. Hexcel has a 52-week low of $46.77 and a 52-week high of $65.82. The company has a 50 day moving average of $59.47 and a two-hundred day moving average of $56.65. The company has a market cap of $4.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.14 and a beta of 1.25.

Hexcel Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 12th. Investors of record on Friday, August 5th were issued a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 4th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.70%. Hexcel's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.38%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Thierry Merlot sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.83, for a total value of $152,075.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 34,011 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,068,889.13. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.39% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Hexcel

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of HXL. Pinebridge Investments L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Hexcel by 487.0% in the 2nd quarter. Pinebridge Investments L.P. now owns 587 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 487 shares during the period. Bank of New Hampshire acquired a new position in Hexcel during the 1st quarter valued at about $33,000. Ellevest Inc. increased its stake in Hexcel by 128.1% during the 1st quarter. Ellevest Inc. now owns 568 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 319 shares during the period. CNB Bank acquired a new position in Hexcel during the 2nd quarter valued at about $49,000. Finally, Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group acquired a new position in Hexcel during the 1st quarter valued at about $59,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.56% of the company's stock.

About Hexcel

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Hexcel Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, develops, manufactures, and markets structural materials for use in commercial aerospace, space and defense, and industrial markets. It operates through two segments, Composite Materials and Engineered Products. The Composite Materials segment manufactures and markets carbon fibers, fabrics and specialty reinforcements, prepregs and other fiber-reinforced matrix materials, structural adhesives, honeycomb, molding compounds, tooling materials, polyurethane systems, and laminates that are used in military and commercial aircraft, wind turbine blades, recreational products, and other industrial applications, as well as in automotive, marine, and trains.

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