Short Interest in Albany International Corp. (NYSE:AIN) Decreases By 13.2%

Albany International Corp. (NYSE:AIN) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest during the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 457,100 shares, a decline of 13.2% from the February 13th total of 526,500 shares. Currently, 1.5% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 194,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.3 days.

Albany International Price Performance

NYSE:AIN traded down $0.26 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $74.45. 3,304 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 177,180. Albany International has a one year low of $67.39 and a one year high of $96.49. The company has a market capitalization of $2.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.28 and a beta of 1.37. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $78.64 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $79.91. The company has a current ratio of 3.68, a quick ratio of 2.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

Albany International (NYSE:AIN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The textile maker reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.63 by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $286.91 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $299.52 million. Albany International had a net margin of 7.92% and a return on equity of 12.20%. Sell-side analysts predict that Albany International will post 3.23 EPS for the current year.

Albany International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 21st will be issued a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 21st. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.45%. Albany International’s dividend payout ratio is currently 38.71%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AIN has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Albany International from $85.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. StockNews.com downgraded Albany International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. TD Cowen upgraded Albany International to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Albany International from $75.00 to $74.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on Albany International from $104.00 to $92.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $83.00.

Institutional Trading of Albany International

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quarry LP raised its stake in Albany International by 515.4% during the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 480 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 402 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new stake in Albany International during the 4th quarter valued at $40,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Albany International by 306.7% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 667 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 503 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Albany International by 735.6% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 752 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 662 shares during the period. Finally, Vestcor Inc acquired a new stake in Albany International during the 4th quarter valued at $70,000. 97.37% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Albany International

Albany International Corp., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the machine clothing and engineered composites businesses. The company operates in two segments, Machine Clothing (MC) and Albany Engineered Composites (AEC). The MC segment designs, manufactures, and markets paper machine clothing for use in the manufacturing of papers, paperboards, tissues, towels, pulps, nonwovens, building products, tannery, and textiles, as well as fiber cement and several other industrial applications.