Albany International Corp. (NYSE:AIN) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Albany International Corp. (NYSE:AIN - Get Free Report) was the target of a large growth in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 593,500 shares, a growth of 29.8% from the February 28th total of 457,100 shares. Currently, 1.9% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 226,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.6 days.

Albany International Stock Down 6.0 %

NYSE AIN traded down $3.93 during trading on Friday, reaching $61.26. 108,876 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 197,370. 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 has a fifty-two week low of $60.38 and a fifty-two week high of $95.47. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $76.46 and its 200-day simple moving average is $78.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.89 billion, a PE ratio of 19.14 and a beta of 1.37.

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

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Albany International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 21st. Albany International's dividend payout ratio is currently 38.71%.

Institutional Trading of Albany International

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AIN. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in Albany International in the 4th quarter worth about $213,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new position in Albany International in the fourth quarter worth approximately $40,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in Albany International by 20.6% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 55,640 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $4,450,000 after buying an additional 9,492 shares during the last quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC raised its position in Albany International by 88.9% during the fourth quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 105,991 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $8,476,000 after acquiring an additional 49,873 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC acquired a new stake in Albany International in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $4,304,000. 97.37% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on AIN shares. Truist Financial increased their price objective on Albany International from $85.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on Albany International from $104.00 to $92.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 28th. StockNews.com downgraded Albany International from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Albany International from $80.00 to $75.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Albany International from $75.00 to $74.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Albany International presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $82.00.

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.