ArcBest (NASDAQ:ARCB) Shares Gap Up - Here's Why

ArcBest Co. (NASDAQ:ARCB - Get Free Report) gapped up prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $61.72, but opened at $68.42. ArcBest shares last traded at $70.50, with a volume of 47,174 shares changing hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on ArcBest from $80.00 to $72.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Citigroup dropped their target price on ArcBest from $83.00 to $66.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Stephens reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $116.00 price objective on shares of ArcBest in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on ArcBest from $102.00 to $83.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded ArcBest from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $88.75.

ArcBest Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $66.40 and its 200 day simple moving average is $88.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.70, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.70.

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

ArcBest Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be paid a $0.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 9th. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.68%. ArcBest's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 6.35%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other ArcBest news, CFO John Matthew Beasley acquired 700 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $74.89 per share, with a total value of $52,423.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 8,142 shares in the company, valued at approximately $609,754.38. This represents a 9.41% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 1.28% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of ArcBest

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ARCB. Signaturefd LLC grew its position in shares of ArcBest by 477.6% in the 1st quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 387 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 320 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of ArcBest by 146.3% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 298 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 177 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC grew its holdings in ArcBest by 338.8% in the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 452 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 349 shares during the period. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in ArcBest in the fourth quarter worth approximately $40,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of ArcBest by 471.9% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 549 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 453 shares in the last quarter. 99.27% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.