Today's Winners and Losers: Hexcel

Shares of Hexcel(HXL Quote) were among the NYSE's losers Tuesday, falling 4% after the company's first-quarter results fell short of Wall Street's expectation.

The company, a maker of lightweight materials used in the commercial aerospace and defense industries, earned $14.5 million, or 15 cents a share, on revenue of $307 million. Analysts polled by Thomson First Call expected earnings of 19 cents a share and revenue of $314.9 million. A year earlier, the company posted a loss of $24.7 million, or 46 cents a share, on revenue of $290.6 million.

Looking ahead, Hexcel sees 2006 constant-currency sales growth of about 10%. Shares were trading down 96 cents to $23.05.

Shares of Mueller Industries(MLI Quote) rose 5% after the maker of copper, brass and plastic construction parts reported better-than-expected first-quarter results. The company earned $33.4 million, or 90 cents a share, on revenue of $551 million. Two analysts had an average estimate for earnings of 64 cents a share, while a single analyst projected revenue of $485 million.

In last year's first quarter, Mueller earned $15.2 million, or 41 cents a share, on revenue of $401.7 million. "Margins in our core product lines remained on a good track, which continued the positive trend reflected in the fourth quarter of last year," the company said. "We also benefited from our operations in Europe and Asia, which performed well." Shares were trading up $1.75 to $39.87.

Smurfit-Stone Container(SSCC Quote) sank 10% after the paperboard and packaging company posted a wider-than-expected first-quarter loss. The company's loss available to common shareholders swelled to $64 million, or 25 cents a share, from $19 million, or 7 cents a share, a year earlier. The loss included gains of 6 cents a share related to a divestiture and a restructuring charge of 2 cents a share. Revenue rose to $2.13 billion from $2.09 billion. Analysts, on average, expected a loss of 19 cents a share and revenue of $2.08 billion. The company said results were hurt by higher costs, particularly energy and freight, as well as lower containerboard prices. Shares fell $1.41 to $13.22.