Albany International Corporation (NYSE:AIN) Short Interest Update

Key Points

• Albany International Corporation saw a 49.6% increase in short interest in August, totaling 859,700 shares as of August 15th, indicating a significant bearish sentiment among investors.
• Several hedge funds have substantially increased their positions in Albany International, with Osaic Holdings leading by raising its stake by 42.3% during the second quarter.
• The company recently reported earnings of $0.57 per share for the last quarter, missing analysts' estimates and showing a 6.2% decline in revenue compared to the previous year.

Albany International Corporation (NYSE:AIN - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in the month of August. As of August 15th, there was short interest totaling 859,700 shares, a growth of 49.6% from the July 31st total of 574,600 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 313,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.7 days. Approximately 3.0% of the shares of the company are sold short. Approximately 3.0% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 313,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.7 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Baird R W downgraded shares of Albany International from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Albany International from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Truist Financial restated a "hold" rating and set a $55.00 price objective (down from $70.00) on shares of Albany International in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Robert W. Baird downgraded shares of Albany International from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $79.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Albany International from $75.00 to $65.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $71.40.

Albany International Price Performance

AIN traded down $2.24 during trading on Friday, hitting $58.07. 201,062 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 225,575. The company has a market cap of $1.71 billion, a PE ratio of 29.04, a P/E/G ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.39. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $64.91 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $67.07. Albany International has a 1 year low of $50.60 and a 1 year high of $89.66. The company has a current ratio of 3.51, a quick ratio of 2.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50.

Albany International (NYSE:AIN - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The textile maker reported $0.57 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.73 by ($0.16). The company had revenue of $311.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $306.06 million. Albany International had a net margin of 5.25% and a return on equity of 8.87%. The business's revenue was down 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.89 earnings per share. Albany International has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.000-3.400 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Albany International will post 3.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Albany International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be paid a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 2nd. Albany International's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.00%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Albany International

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Brooklyn Investment Group grew its stake in shares of Albany International by 2,241.2% in the 1st quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 398 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 381 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Albany International by 227.3% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 540 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 375 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new position in shares of Albany International during the 4th quarter worth about $40,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Albany International by 32.4% during the 2nd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 711 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the period. Finally, Osaic Holdings Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Albany International by 42.3% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 908 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $64,000 after purchasing an additional 270 shares during the period. 97.37% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.