9,900 Shares in ArcBest Corporation $ARCB Purchased by Louisiana State Employees Retirement System

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new stake in ArcBest Corporation (NASDAQ:ARCB) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 9,900 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $974,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Federated Hermes Inc. grew its position in shares of ArcBest by 126.6% in the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 1,015 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $75,000 after acquiring an additional 567 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new position in ArcBest during the second quarter worth $85,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its stake in ArcBest by 507.6% during the fourth quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,118 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $83,000 after purchasing an additional 934 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. boosted its holdings in ArcBest by 5,940.0% in the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,208 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $90,000 after purchasing an additional 1,188 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in ArcBest by 69.4% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,299 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $96,000 after purchasing an additional 532 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.27% of the company’s stock.

ArcBest Price Performance

ARCB stock opened at $139.67 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $3.11 billion, a PE ratio of 57.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 1.57. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $137.33 and its 200 day simple moving average is $109.83. ArcBest Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $59.43 and a fifty-two week high of $176.69. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10.

ArcBest (NASDAQ:ARCB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The transportation company reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.27 by $0.05. ArcBest had a return on equity of 6.15% and a net margin of 1.38%.The company had revenue of $998.79 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $999.07 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.51 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that ArcBest Corporation will post 5.87 EPS for the current year.

ArcBest Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, May 8th were paid a dividend of $0.12 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 8th. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. ArcBest’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.75%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on ARCB shares. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $150.00 target price on shares of ArcBest in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Zacks Research raised shares of ArcBest from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of ArcBest from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of ArcBest from $138.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, June 5th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on ArcBest from $117.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, ArcBest has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $145.42.

About ArcBest

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.