William Blair Investment Management LLC Reduces Stake in Albany International Corporation $AIN

Key Points

• William Blair Investment Management cut its stake in Albany International by 44.8% in the fourth quarter, though it still held 483,935 shares valued at about $24.5 million.
• Albany International posted better-than-expected Q1 results, with EPS of $0.60 versus $0.55 expected and revenue of $311.33 million, up 7.8% year over year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.28 per share, payable July 7, while analysts currently have a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $61.50.

William Blair Investment Management LLC lowered its position in Albany International Corporation (NYSE:AIN - Free Report) by 44.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 483,935 shares of the textile maker's stock after selling 392,520 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC owned approximately 1.69% of Albany International worth $24,536,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Covestor Ltd boosted its position in Albany International by 88.2% in the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,393 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $71,000 after buying an additional 653 shares during the last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL boosted its position in Albany International by 130.2% in the fourth quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 215,044 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $10,903,000 after buying an additional 121,614 shares during the last quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC boosted its position in Albany International by 68.3% in the fourth quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 149,477 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $7,578,000 after buying an additional 60,668 shares during the last quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Albany International by 123.4% in the fourth quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 131,829 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $6,684,000 after buying an additional 72,829 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strs Ohio boosted its position in Albany International by 2,700.0% in the fourth quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 2,800 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $142,000 after buying an additional 2,700 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.37% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on AIN shares. Zacks Research upgraded Albany International from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d)" rating on shares of Albany International in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Truist Financial upgraded Albany International to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Albany International from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 16th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $61.50.

Albany International Trading Up 0.1%

AIN stock opened at $62.20 on Tuesday. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $56.57 and its 200-day simple moving average is $54.47. The company has a quick ratio of 1.88, a current ratio of 2.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. Albany International Corporation has a 52-week low of $41.15 and a 52-week high of $73.00. The firm has a market cap of $1.77 billion, a P/E ratio of -30.49, a PEG ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 1.18.

Albany International (NYSE:AIN - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The textile maker reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.05. Albany International had a negative net margin of 4.93% and a positive return on equity of 9.44%. The business had revenue of $311.33 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $281.00 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.73 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. Albany International has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.700-0.800 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Albany International Corporation will post 2.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Albany International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. Albany International's dividend payout ratio is presently -54.90%.

About Albany International

Albany International Corp. is a global advanced materials company specializing in engineered textiles and composites. Its business is organized into two primary segments: Process Media and Engineered Composites. The Process Media segment designs, manufactures and services press, forming and drying fabrics used in the production of paper and packaging materials, helping paper manufacturers improve efficiency, quality and sustainability. The Engineered Composites segment produces lightweight composite structures and components for aerospace and industrial applications, serving commercial and military aircraft programs as well as industrial markets that require high-performance, durable materials.

In the Process Media segment, Albany's products include forming fabrics, press felts and dryer fabrics engineered to withstand extreme moisture and temperature conditions.

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