ArcBest Co. (NASDAQ:ARCB) Short Interest Down 18.1% in April

ArcBest Co. (NASDAQ:ARCB - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant decline in short interest during the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,130,000 shares, a decline of 18.1% from the March 31st total of 1,380,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 369,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.1 days. Approximately 5.0% of the company's shares are sold short.

ArcBest Stock Up 7.3 %

Shares of ARCB traded up $4.20 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $62.01. The company had a trading volume of 533,928 shares, compared to its average volume of 301,424. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.70. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $68.08 and a 200-day moving average price of $89.87. ArcBest has a 52-week low of $55.19 and a 52-week high of $129.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.01.

ArcBest (NASDAQ:ARCB - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The transportation company reported $0.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.52 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $967.08 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $990.03 million. ArcBest had a return on equity of 11.79% and a net margin of 4.16%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.34 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that ArcBest will post 7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ArcBest Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.12 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 9th. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.77%. ArcBest's dividend payout ratio is 6.35%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on ARCB shares. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on ArcBest from $97.00 to $84.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Truist Financial dropped their target price on shares of ArcBest from $93.00 to $90.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of ArcBest from $100.00 to $73.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of ArcBest from $83.00 to $66.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $116.00 price objective on shares of ArcBest in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $88.75.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO John Matthew Beasley acquired 700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $74.89 per share, for a total transaction of $52,423.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 8,142 shares of the company's stock, valued at $609,754.38. This trade represents a 9.41 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.28% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in ArcBest by 342.5% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 43,134 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $4,678,000 after buying an additional 33,386 shares in the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of ArcBest during the third quarter valued at approximately $485,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in ArcBest by 24.6% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 221,507 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $24,022,000 after purchasing an additional 43,707 shares during the period. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. bought a new position in ArcBest during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $375,000. Finally, Lake Hills Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in ArcBest in the fourth quarter worth approximately $414,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.27% of the company's stock.

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.