Albany International Corporation (NYSE:AIN) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

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 large increase in short interest in the month of August. As of August 15th, there was short interest totaling 859,700 shares, anincreaseof49.6% from the July 31st total of 574,600 shares. Approximately3.0% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 313,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.7 days. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 313,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.7 days. Approximately3.0% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Albany International

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Osaic Holdings Inc. raised its stake in shares of Albany International by 42.3% in the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 908 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $64,000 after buying an additional 270 shares in the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its position in shares of Albany International by 3.7% during the 2nd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 102,933 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $7,219,000 after purchasing an additional 3,626 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its position in shares of Albany International by 369.1% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 3,795 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $266,000 after purchasing an additional 2,986 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Albany International during the 2nd quarter worth about $77,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.37% of the company's stock.

Albany International Price Performance

Shares of AIN stock traded down $0.22 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $62.37. The company's stock had a trading volume of 199,289 shares, compared to its average volume of 264,471. Albany International has a 1-year low of $50.60 and a 1-year high of $89.66. The company has a market cap of $1.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.19, a PEG ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 2.78 and a current ratio of 3.51. The firm's 50-day moving average is $66.04 and its two-hundred day moving average is $67.68.

Albany International (NYSE:AIN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The textile maker reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.73 by ($0.16). Albany International had a net margin of 5.25% and a return on equity of 8.87%. The business had revenue of $311.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $306.06 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.89 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was down 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Albany International has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.000-3.400 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Albany International will post 3.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Albany International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be paid a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 2nd. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. Albany International's dividend payout ratio is currently 54.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird downgraded shares of Albany International from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $79.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Baird R W downgraded shares of Albany International from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Albany International from $75.00 to $65.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, June 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Albany International from $65.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Albany International from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $71.40.

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.

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