ArcBest Corporation (NASDAQ:ARCB) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

ArcBest Corporation (NASDAQ:ARCB) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the fifteen brokerages that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $86.00.

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on ARCB. TD Cowen dropped their target price on ArcBest from $67.00 to $64.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of ArcBest from $85.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Stephens lowered shares of ArcBest from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $72.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of ArcBest from $72.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 23rd. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of ArcBest from $87.00 to $83.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 2nd.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ArcBest

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Turtle Creek Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in ArcBest during the third quarter valued at about $39,508,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings in shares of ArcBest by 158.7% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 490,064 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $37,740,000 after acquiring an additional 300,642 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP raised its stake in shares of ArcBest by 145.9% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 281,803 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $19,690,000 after acquiring an additional 167,200 shares in the last quarter. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in ArcBest in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $12,657,000. Finally, Wasatch Advisors LP acquired a new stake in ArcBest in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $8,766,000. Institutional investors own 99.27% of the company’s stock.

ArcBest Price Performance

ARCB opened at $77.17 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.33, a PEG ratio of 8.93 and a beta of 1.51. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $70.61 and a 200-day moving average of $73.23. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. ArcBest has a 12-month low of $55.19 and a 12-month high of $103.63.

ArcBest (NASDAQ:ARCB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The transportation company reported $1.46 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $1.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.04 billion. ArcBest had a return on equity of 8.24% and a net margin of 2.41%.ArcBest’s quarterly revenue was down 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.64 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that ArcBest will post 7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ArcBest Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 14th were given a $0.12 dividend. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 14th. ArcBest’s dividend payout ratio is presently 11.40%.

ArcBest Company Profile

ArcBest Corporation (NASDAQ: ARCB) is a transportation and logistics company that offers comprehensive freight and supply chain solutions across North America. Founded in 1923 as Arkansas Best Freight System, the company has evolved into a diversified service provider with both asset-based and asset-light operations. Its core businesses include less-than-truckload (LTL) shipping through ABF Freight, expedited full-truckload services via Panther Premium Logistics, and a range of logistics and supply chain management services under its ArcBest Integrated Logistics division.

The company’s asset-based operations also encompass FleetNet America, a provider of emergency roadside assistance and maintenance services for heavy-duty vehicles.