Willis Investment Counsel Acquires 12,272 Shares of Hexcel Corporation $HXL

09 Apr 2026, 13:07 by Tristan Rich · The Markets Daily

Willis Investment Counsel boosted its position in Hexcel Corporation (NYSE:HXL – Free Report) by 42.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 41,437 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,272 shares during the period. Willis Investment Counsel owned 0.05% of Hexcel worth $3,062,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. MMA Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Hexcel in the 3rd quarter worth about $35,000. Optiver Holding B.V. increased its holdings in Hexcel by 469.3% in the 3rd quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 575 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 474 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Hexcel by 8,671.4% in the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 614 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 607 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in Hexcel by 138.7% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 759 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 441 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 288 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.47% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $85.00 target price on shares of Hexcel in a report on Friday, January 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on Hexcel from $92.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Wall Street Zen raised Hexcel from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Morgan Stanley raised Hexcel from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $67.00 to $90.00 in a report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Hexcel in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Hexcel has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $86.36.

View Our Latest Stock Report on HXL

Hexcel Trading Up 4.3%

NYSE HXL opened at $83.37 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $85.03 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $76.78. Hexcel Corporation has a 12 month low of $45.37 and a 12 month high of $95.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.28 billion, a PE ratio of 60.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a current ratio of 2.26, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79.

Hexcel (NYSE:HXL – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The aerospace company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50 by $0.02. Hexcel had a return on equity of 9.54% and a net margin of 5.78%.The firm had revenue of $491.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $484.46 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.52 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. Hexcel has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.100-2.300 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Hexcel Corporation will post 2.14 EPS for the current year.

Hexcel Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 9th were given a $0.18 dividend. This is a boost from Hexcel’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 9th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Hexcel’s dividend payout ratio is presently 52.17%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Amy S. Evans sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.80, for a total value of $139,200.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 1.39% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Hexcel

(Free Report)

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.

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