ArcBest Co. (NASDAQ:ARCB) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of ArcBest Co. (NASDAQ:ARCB) have been given an average rating of “Hold” by the thirteen research firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $101.50.

ARCB has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of ArcBest from $160.00 to $145.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on ArcBest from $108.00 to $97.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. UBS Group dropped their target price on ArcBest from $110.00 to $100.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of ArcBest from $83.00 to $66.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $116.00 price objective on shares of ArcBest in a report on Tuesday, March 11th.

ArcBest Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ARCB opened at $56.73 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $69.64 and a 200-day simple moving average of $90.83. ArcBest has a twelve month low of $55.52 and a twelve month high of $129.83. The company has a market capitalization of $1.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.62. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10.

ArcBest (NASDAQ:ARCB) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The transportation company reported $0.51 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.52 by ($0.01). ArcBest had a net margin of 4.16% and a return on equity of 11.79%. The business had revenue of $967.08 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $990.03 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.34 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that ArcBest will post 7 earnings per share for the current year.

ArcBest Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, May 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 9th. ArcBest’s payout ratio is currently 6.55%.

Insider Buying and Selling at ArcBest

In related news, CFO John Matthew Beasley purchased 700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were bought at an average price of $74.89 per share, with a total value of $52,423.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief financial officer now owns 8,142 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $609,754.38. This represents a 9.41 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 1.28% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ArcBest

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of ArcBest by 146.3% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 298 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares during the last quarter. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in ArcBest during the fourth quarter valued at about $40,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of ArcBest by 471.9% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 549 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 453 shares during the period. KBC Group NV increased its position in shares of ArcBest by 34.9% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,148 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $107,000 after acquiring an additional 297 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Curat Global LLC acquired a new stake in shares of ArcBest during the first quarter valued at approximately $82,000. 99.27% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About ArcBest

ArcBest Corporation, an integrated logistics company, engages in the provision of ground, air, and ocean transportation solutions. It operates through two segments: Asset-Based and Asset-Light. The Asset-Based segment provides less-than-truckload (LTL) services, that transports general commodities, such as food, textiles, apparel, furniture, appliances, chemicals, non-bulk petroleum products, rubber, plastics, metal and metal products, wood, glass, automotive parts, machinery, and miscellaneous manufactured products.