Albany International (NYSE:AIN) Shares Up 9% Following Analyst Upgrade

Albany International Corporation (NYSE:AIN) shares rose 9% during trading on Monday after Wall Street Zen upgraded the stock from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating. The stock traded as high as $72.57 and last traded at $73.0010. 156,956 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 42% from the average session volume of 271,524 shares. The stock had previously closed at $67.00.

A number of other equities analysts have also issued reports on AIN. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Albany International from $67.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Albany International from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 28th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Albany International from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 20th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Albany International from $64.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $69.00.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Albany International

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL raised its position in Albany International by 199.8% during the 1st quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 644,605 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $33,655,000 after buying an additional 429,561 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in shares of Albany International by 18.2% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,043,579 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $54,485,000 after acquiring an additional 160,370 shares during the period. Gabelli Funds LLC raised its holdings in Albany International by 88.5% during the first quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 281,703 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $14,708,000 after purchasing an additional 132,226 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC purchased a new position in Albany International during the first quarter worth about $5,007,000. Finally, Roubaix Capital LLC purchased a new position in Albany International during the first quarter worth about $3,525,000. 97.37% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Albany International Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 2.41 and a quick ratio of 1.89. The stock has a market cap of $2.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.15. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $60.60 and its 200 day moving average is $61.77.

Albany International (NYSE:AIN) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The textile maker reported $1.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.48 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $349.54 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $326.12 million. Albany International had a return on equity of 14.25% and a net margin of 6.73%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 33.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.71 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Albany International Corporation will post 3.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Albany International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st were given a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 1st. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. Albany International’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.25%.

About Albany International

Albany International Corporation is an advanced materials and engineered products company serving the paper, aerospace and defense industries. Founded in 1895, the company develops and manufactures specialized textiles, composite materials and related process technologies for industrial applications.

Albany International operates through two primary businesses. Its Machine Clothing segment produces engineered fabrics and process belts used in paper manufacturing, including forming fabrics, press felts, dryer fabrics and other products that support papermaking efficiency and quality.