ArcBest Corporation (NASDAQ:ARCB) Given Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Analysts rate ArcBest “Moderate Buy.” Among 15 analysts, seven recommend buying, seven rate it a hold and one gives a strong-buy rating; the average 12-month price target is $154.23.
• ArcBest exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $2.38 in EPS versus the $2.26 consensus and $1.18 billion in revenue, up 15.9% year over year.
• The company pays a quarterly dividend of $0.12, equivalent to a $0.48 annualized payout and a 0.4% yield, while institutional investors own 99.27% of its shares.

Shares of ArcBest Corporation (NASDAQ:ARCB - Get Free Report) have earned an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the fifteen ratings firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $154.2308.

ARCB has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Bank of America increased their price target on ArcBest from $138.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, June 5th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on ArcBest from $130.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, June 5th. TD Cowen decreased their target price on ArcBest from $175.00 to $155.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of ArcBest from $150.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of ArcBest from $145.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th.

ArcBest Stock Down 0.1%

ARCB stock opened at $134.86 on Friday. ArcBest has a one year low of $59.43 and a one year high of $176.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 0.97. The firm's fifty day moving average is $143.30 and its 200 day moving average is $128.22. The firm has a market cap of $3.01 billion, a PE ratio of 195.45, a P/E/G ratio of 0.41 and a beta of 1.55.

ArcBest (NASDAQ:ARCB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The transportation company reported $2.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.26 by $0.12. ArcBest had a net margin of 0.39% and a return on equity of 7.92%. The business had revenue of $1.18 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.17 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.36 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 15.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that ArcBest will post 6.95 EPS for the current year.

ArcBest Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 21st. Investors of record on Friday, August 7th were paid a $0.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 7th. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. ArcBest's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 69.57%.

Insider Transactions at ArcBest

In related news, insider Erin Gattis sold 6,163 shares of ArcBest stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.00, for a total value of $862,820.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 24,286 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,400,040. The trade was a 20.24% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Judy McReynolds sold 2,857 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.98, for a total value of $397,065.86. Following the sale, the director owned 50,048 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,955,671.04. This trade represents a 5.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 11,963 shares of company stock worth $1,678,066 over the last ninety days. 0.98% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of ArcBest

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of ArcBest by 300.3% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 26,896 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $1,898,000 after purchasing an additional 20,177 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its holdings in ArcBest by 4.6% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 14,017 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $989,000 after acquiring an additional 619 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its stake in shares of ArcBest by 215.8% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 153,138 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $10,808,000 after purchasing an additional 104,643 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of ArcBest by 278.2% during the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 45,591 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $3,218,000 after purchasing an additional 33,537 shares during the period. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in ArcBest by 3.4% during the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 20,135 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $1,421,000 after buying an additional 655 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.27% of the company's stock.

ArcBest Company Profile

ArcBest Corporation NASDAQ: ARCB is a North American logistics company headquartered in Fort Smith, Arkansas. Through its subsidiaries and service offerings, the company provides freight transportation, supply chain management and logistics solutions for businesses of various sizes.

Its asset-based operations are primarily conducted through ABF Freight, a less-than-truckload carrier that transports palletized and other freight across the United States, Canada and Mexico. ABF Freight offers regional, interregional and long-haul services, as well as time-critical, expedited, guaranteed and specialized transportation solutions.

ArcBest also provides asset-light logistics services, including truckload, expedited, final-mile, intermodal, international and managed transportation solutions.

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