Albany International (NYSE:AIN) Cut to “Buy” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Albany International (NYSE:AIN) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Sunday morning,Wall Street Zen reports.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Albany International from $64.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Albany International from $67.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 30th. Zacks Research upgraded Albany International from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Albany International from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $69.00.

Albany International Stock Performance

Albany International stock opened at $69.03 on Friday. Albany International has a 12-month low of $41.15 and a 12-month high of $77.00. The company has a market capitalization of $1.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.15. 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 firm’s fifty day moving average price is $62.28 and its 200 day moving average price is $62.20.

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

Albany International Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st were issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 1st. Albany International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.25%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Albany International

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Allworth Financial LP lifted its position in shares of Albany International by 95.1% during the second quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 474 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 231 shares during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Albany International by 25.5% in the third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,222 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $73,000 after buying an additional 248 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Albany International by 25.3% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,286 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $96,000 after buying an additional 260 shares during the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Albany International by 62.6% in the third quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 691 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 266 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cim Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Albany International by 7.4% during the second quarter. Cim Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,780 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $431,000 after buying an additional 399 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.37% of the company’s stock.

Albany International Company Profile

Albany International Corporation is a materials science and manufacturing company founded in 1895 as Albany Felt Company. It operates through two businesses: Machine Clothing and Albany Engineered Composites. Machine Clothing makes permeable fabrics and belts used in paper production, as well as products for paperboard, tissue and other industrial applications. Albany Engineered Composites designs and manufactures advanced composite structures and components, primarily for the aerospace and defense industries.