ArcBest (NASDAQ:ARCB) Shares Gap Down on Disappointing Earnings

Key Points

• ArcBest Corporation shares dropped significantly after the company reported quarterly earnings of $1.36 per share, missing the analysts' expectation of $1.41 by $0.05.
• The firm declared a quarterly dividend of $0.12, with a payout ratio of 6.35% and an annualized yield of 0.66%.
• Multiple analysts have raised their price targets for ArcBest, with Goldman Sachs upgrading the stock's rating to a "buy" and setting a new price objective of $101.00.

ArcBest Corporation (NASDAQ:ARCB - Get Free Report) shares gapped down before the market opened on Wednesday following a dissappointing earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $82.00, but opened at $76.15. ArcBest shares last traded at $72.96, with a volume of 180,906 shares changing hands.

The transportation company reported $1.36 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.48 by ($0.12). ArcBest had a return on equity of 8.67% and a net margin of 3.90%. The firm had revenue of $1.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.03 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.98 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 5.1% on a year-over-year basis.

ArcBest Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 8th. ArcBest's payout ratio is currently 7.14%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on ARCB shares. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on shares of ArcBest from $80.00 to $72.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of ArcBest from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $84.00 to $101.00 in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a $85.00 target price (up previously from $75.00) on shares of ArcBest in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. Truist Financial cut 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of ArcBest from $75.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $90.00.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ArcBest

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. raised its holdings in ArcBest by 7.1% in the first quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 4,303 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $304,000 after purchasing an additional 285 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC acquired a new stake in shares of ArcBest during the first quarter worth $381,000. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of ArcBest by 33.3% during the first quarter. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,053 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $215,000 after acquiring an additional 762 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of ArcBest by 185.3% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,435 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $101,000 after acquiring an additional 932 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of ArcBest during the fourth quarter worth $5,826,000. 99.27% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

ArcBest Trading Down 4.1%

The business's fifty day moving average is $74.14 and its 200 day moving average is $74.99. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 1.69.

ArcBest Company Profile

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.