Principal Financial Group Inc. Purchases 36,274 Shares of Albany International Corp. (NYSE:AIN)

Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Albany International Corp. (NYSE:AIN - Free Report) by 6.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 586,268 shares of the textile maker's stock after acquiring an additional 36,274 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 1.88% of Albany International worth $52,071,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Hilltop National Bank increased its holdings in Albany International by 14.7% during the 2nd quarter. Hilltop National Bank now owns 1,045 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $88,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Albany International by 27.4% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 674 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $57,000 after acquiring an additional 145 shares during the period. Creative Planning boosted its holdings in Albany International by 3.0% in the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 5,018 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $424,000 after acquiring an additional 147 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System increased its position in Albany International by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 8,744 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $738,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the period. Finally, Dakota Wealth Management raised its holdings in Albany International by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. Dakota Wealth Management now owns 13,211 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $1,116,000 after purchasing an additional 195 shares in the last quarter. 97.37% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Albany International Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of AIN traded up $1.33 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $83.29. The company had a trading volume of 285,906 shares, compared to its average volume of 272,451. 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 capitalization of $2.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.29. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $79.78 and a 200 day moving average price of $84.81. Albany International Corp. has a 52 week low of $67.39 and a 52 week high of $99.41.

Albany International (NYSE:AIN - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The textile maker reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.35. Albany International had a return on equity of 12.20% and a net margin of 7.92%. The business had revenue of $298.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $304.51 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.02 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Albany International Corp. will post 3.2 EPS for the current year.

Albany International Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were given a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 3rd. Albany International's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Albany International

In other news, VP Joseph M. Gaug purchased 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $71.24 per share, for a total transaction of $71,240.00. Following the purchase, the vice president now directly owns 6,811 shares in the company, valued at approximately $485,215.64. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Albany International news, VP Joseph M. Gaug acquired 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $71.24 per share, for a total transaction of $71,240.00. Following the purchase, the vice president now directly owns 6,811 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $485,215.64. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Robert Alan Hansen acquired 1,050 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $71.26 per share, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders purchased 3,450 shares of company stock worth $245,813. Insiders own 0.76% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on AIN shares. Truist Financial cut their price objective on Albany International from $91.00 to $85.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 1st. TD Cowen dropped their price target on Albany International from $95.00 to $81.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Albany International from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $88.00.

Albany International Company Profile

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.