Albany International (NYSE:AIN) Upgraded to "Strong-Buy" at TD Cowen

TD Cowen upgraded shares of Albany International (NYSE:AIN - Free Report) to a strong-buy rating in a report released on Thursday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Truist Financial cut their price objective on shares of Albany International from $91.00 to $85.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Albany International from $90.00 to $80.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Albany International from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Albany International has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $85.50.

Albany International Price Performance

Shares of AIN traded up $1.93 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $81.18. 825,423 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 174,356. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 2.94 and a current ratio of 3.68. The company has a market cap of $2.54 billion, a PE ratio of 25.37 and a beta of 1.34. Albany International has a 52-week low of $67.39 and a 52-week high of $99.41. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $78.69 and a two-hundred day moving average of $83.67.

Albany International (NYSE:AIN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The textile maker reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.35. Albany International had a net margin of 7.92% and a return on equity of 12.20%. The company had revenue of $298.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $304.51 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.02 earnings per share. Albany International's revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Albany International will post 3.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Albany International Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 17th will be paid a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 17th. This is an increase from Albany International's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. Albany International's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.75%.

Insider Activity at Albany International

In other news, SVP Robert Alan Hansen purchased 1,050 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $71.26 per share, with a total value of $74,823.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 8,387 shares of the company's stock, valued at $597,657.62. This represents a 14.31 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Joseph M. Gaug acquired 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $71.24 per share, with a total value of $71,240.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the vice president now directly owns 6,811 shares of the company's stock, valued at $485,215.64. This represents a 17.21 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders purchased 3,450 shares of company stock worth $245,813 in the last 90 days. 0.76% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Quarry LP raised its position in shares of Albany International by 515.4% in the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 480 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 402 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Albany International by 33.4% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 899 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $80,000 after purchasing an additional 225 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV raised its holdings in Albany International by 28.9% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,058 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $94,000 after purchasing an additional 237 shares in the last quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division lifted its position in shares of Albany International by 40.3% during the third quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 1,985 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $176,000 after buying an additional 570 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bridges Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Albany International in the 3rd quarter valued at about $206,000. 97.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.