Royal Bank of Canada Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Hexcel (NYSE:HXL) Stock

Hexcel (NYSE:HXL) had its price target raised by stock analysts at Royal Bank of Canada from $74.00 to $82.00 in a note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “outperform” rating on the aerospace company’s stock. Royal Bank of Canada’s price target points to a potential upside of 20.79% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on HXL. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Hexcel from $81.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Truist Financial lowered their target price on Hexcel from $78.00 to $76.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 18th. StockNews.com downgraded Hexcel from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on Hexcel from $70.00 to $68.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on Hexcel from $67.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $73.25.

Hexcel Stock Performance

Hexcel stock traded down $2.81 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $67.89. 1,114,584 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,408,488. Hexcel has a one year low of $57.50 and a one year high of $77.09. The company has a quick ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 2.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $63.57 and a 200 day moving average price of $62.69. The company has a market cap of $5.50 billion, a PE ratio of 42.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.30.

Hexcel (NYSE:HXL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The aerospace company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52. Hexcel had a return on equity of 10.55% and a net margin of 6.94%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Hexcel will post 2.34 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hexcel

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in HXL. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Hexcel by 277.9% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,695,343 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $105,874,000 after purchasing an additional 1,246,765 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Hexcel by 307.1% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,079,598 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $67,421,000 after purchasing an additional 814,402 shares during the last quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. raised its holdings in Hexcel by 215.5% in the 2nd quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 865,235 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $54,034,000 after acquiring an additional 590,975 shares in the last quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC raised its holdings in Hexcel by 1,153.9% in the 4th quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 535,962 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $33,546,000 after acquiring an additional 493,218 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in Hexcel by 36.2% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,600,619 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $98,966,000 after acquiring an additional 425,402 shares in 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.