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

Shares of ArcBest Corporation (NASDAQ:ARCB) have earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen ratings firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, six have given a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $123.4167.

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on ARCB. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on ArcBest from $85.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Zacks Research raised ArcBest from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Weiss Ratings lowered ArcBest from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. Wall Street Zen raised ArcBest from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price objective on ArcBest from $95.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ArcBest

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ARCB. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. purchased a new position in shares of ArcBest in the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of ArcBest by 26.9% in the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 675 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. increased its holdings 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 valued at $75,000 after acquiring an additional 567 shares during the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its holdings in shares of ArcBest by 507.6% in the 4th quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,118 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $83,000 after acquiring an additional 934 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new position in shares of ArcBest in the 2nd quarter valued at about $85,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.27% of the company’s stock.

ArcBest Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ARCB opened at $142.13 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.93. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $116.72 and its 200-day moving average price is $96.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.16 billion, a PE ratio of 58.49, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.55. ArcBest has a 1 year low of $59.43 and a 1 year high of $142.76.

ArcBest (NASDAQ:ARCB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The transportation company reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.27 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $998.79 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $999.07 million. ArcBest had a return on equity of 6.15% and a net margin of 1.38%.The business’s revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.51 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that ArcBest will post 5.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ArcBest Dividend Announcement

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

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.