Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH Acquires 34,890 Shares of Albany International Corp. (NYSE:AIN)

Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH boosted its stake in shares of Albany International Corp. (NYSE:AIN - Free Report) by 16.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 252,233 shares of the textile maker's stock after purchasing an additional 34,890 shares during the period. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH owned 0.81% of Albany International worth $20,171,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC lifted its stake in Albany International by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC now owns 4,825 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $386,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Albany International in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $365,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Albany International during the 4th quarter worth approximately $226,000. Diversified Trust Co increased its holdings in shares of Albany International by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 10,701 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $856,000 after acquiring an additional 551 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Central Pacific Bank Trust Division raised its stake in Albany International by 16.1% in the 4th quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 2,305 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $184,000 after acquiring an additional 320 shares during the period. 97.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Albany International

In related news, SVP Robert Alan Hansen purchased 1,050 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $71.26 per share, with a total value of $74,823.00. Following the acquisition, the senior vice president now owns 8,387 shares of the company's stock, valued at $597,657.62. This trade represents a 14.31 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Gunnar Kleveland acquired 1,400 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were bought at an average price of $71.25 per share, with a total value of $99,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 8,284 shares in the company, valued at $590,235. This represents a 20.34 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have bought 3,450 shares of company stock valued at $245,813 over the last three months. 0.76% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on AIN shares. TD Cowen raised shares of Albany International to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Albany International from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Bank of America reduced their price objective on Albany International from $90.00 to $80.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Albany International from $75.00 to $74.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price target on Albany International from $85.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $80.75.

Albany International Price Performance

NYSE:AIN traded down $0.51 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $80.76. 117,096 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 188,930. The business has a 50 day moving average of $81.37 and a 200 day moving average of $83.05. Albany International Corp. has a 1-year low of $67.39 and a 1-year high of $98.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 3.68 and a quick ratio of 2.94. The company has a market capitalization of $2.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.24 and a beta of 1.35.

Albany International (NYSE:AIN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The textile maker reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.35. The company had revenue of $298.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $304.51 million. Albany International had a return on equity of 12.20% and a net margin of 7.92%. Albany International's revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.02 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Albany International Corp. will post 3.24 EPS for the current year.

Albany International Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 17th were given a dividend of $0.27 per share. This is a positive change from Albany International's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 17th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.34%. Albany International's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.75%.

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.