Hexcel (NYSE:HXL) Updates FY 2024 Earnings Guidance

Hexcel (NYSE:HXL) updated its FY 2024 earnings guidance on Tuesday. The company provided earnings per share guidance of 2.100-2.300 for the period, compared to the consensus earnings per share 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.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on HXL. Truist Financial raised shares of Hexcel from a hold rating to a buy rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $62.00 to $96.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. UBS Group downgraded shares of Hexcel from a buy rating to a neutral rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $87.00 to $72.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Hexcel from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Saturday, February 3rd. Bank of America reissued an underperform rating and set a $65.00 target price (down previously from $75.00) on shares of Hexcel in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Hexcel from $80.00 to $75.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Hexcel presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $76.57.

Hexcel Stock Performance

HXL opened at $63.71 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 2.74 and a quick ratio of 1.68. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $72.39 and a 200 day moving average price of $69.68. Hexcel has a 1 year low of $58.81 and a 1 year high of $79.08. The stock has a market cap of $5.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.23.

Hexcel (NYSE:HXL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The aerospace company reported $0.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.49 by ($0.06). Hexcel had a net margin of 5.91% and a return on equity of 9.31%. The firm had revenue of $457.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $474.01 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.40 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Hexcel will post 2.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Hexcel Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 16th. Investors of record on Friday, February 9th were paid 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 dividend yield of 0.94%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 8th. Hexcel’s payout ratio is currently 48.39%.

Insider Activity at Hexcel

In related news, insider Gina Fitzsimons sold 864 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.10, for a total value of $62,294.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,375 shares in the company, valued at approximately $243,337.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Hexcel news, insider Gina Fitzsimons sold 864 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,375 shares in the company, valued at $243,337.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Thierry Merlot sold 4,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.63, for a total transaction of $322,335.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 50,371 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,608,074.73. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.39% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in Hexcel during the second quarter worth about $31,000. Creative Planning acquired a new stake in shares of Hexcel during the third quarter worth about $30,000. Belpointe Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Hexcel by 45.2% during the first quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 784 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV acquired a new stake in shares of Hexcel during the fourth quarter worth about $122,000. Finally, Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its position in shares of Hexcel by 55.7% during the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 1,664 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $123,000 after purchasing an additional 595 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.