Albany International (NYSE:AIN) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

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

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Albany International from $64.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Albany International from $67.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday. Zacks Research raised Albany International from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Albany International from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $69.00.

Albany International Trading Up 9.5%

AIN opened at $73.39 on Friday. Albany International has a one year low of $41.15 and a one year high of $77.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 1.89 and a current ratio of 2.24. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $60.89 and its 200 day moving average price is $61.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.08 billion, a PE ratio of 16.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.17.

Albany International (NYSE:AIN) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The textile maker reported $1.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.48 by $0.20. Albany International had a net margin of 6.73% and a return on equity of 14.48%. The firm had revenue of $349.54 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $326.12 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.71 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 33.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Albany International will post 3.36 EPS for the current year.

Albany International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 7th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 1st were paid a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 1st. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. Albany International’s payout ratio is 36.25%.

Institutional Trading of Albany International

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL grew its stake in shares of Albany International by 199.8% in the first quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 644,605 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $33,655,000 after purchasing an additional 429,561 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in shares of Albany International by 18.2% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,043,579 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $54,485,000 after acquiring an additional 160,370 shares during the last quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC increased its stake in Albany International by 88.5% in the 1st quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 281,703 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $14,708,000 after purchasing an additional 132,226 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Albany International in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $5,007,000. Finally, Roubaix Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Albany International during the first quarter worth approximately $3,525,000. 97.37% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Albany International

Albany International Corporation is an advanced materials and engineered products company serving the paper, aerospace and defense industries. Founded in 1895, the company develops and manufactures specialized textiles, composite materials and related process technologies for industrial applications.

Albany International operates through two primary businesses. Its Machine Clothing segment produces engineered fabrics and process belts used in paper manufacturing, including forming fabrics, press felts, dryer fabrics and other products that support papermaking efficiency and quality.