BlackRock Inc. Makes New Investment in ArcBest Corporation $ARCB

Key Points

• BlackRock acquired 3.51 million ArcBest shares worth approximately $503.5 million, giving it a 15.69% stake. Institutional investors collectively own 99.27% of the company.
• Analysts have a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating with a $154.23 price target, while ArcBest recently exceeded quarterly expectations with $2.38 in EPS and $1.18 billion in revenue.
• ARCB opened at $134.45 after a reported 4.2% decline; the company pays a quarterly dividend of $0.12, while insiders sold nearly 12,000 shares worth approximately $1.68 million over the past 90 days.

BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in ArcBest Corporation (NASDAQ:ARCB - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 3,507,564 shares of the transportation company's stock, valued at approximately $503,476,000. BlackRock Inc. owned about 15.69% of ArcBest at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its position in shares of ArcBest by 126.6% during the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 1,015 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $75,000 after buying an additional 567 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new position in ArcBest in the 2nd quarter worth about $85,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its stake in ArcBest by 507.6% during 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 period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its stake in ArcBest by 8.2% during the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,775 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $175,000 after acquiring an additional 134 shares during the period. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP boosted its holdings in shares of ArcBest by 146.3% during the 3rd quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 1,786 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $125,000 after acquiring an additional 1,061 shares during the last quarter. 99.27% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ARCB has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of ArcBest from $138.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, June 5th. Stephens upgraded shares of ArcBest to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. TD Cowen decreased their target price on shares of ArcBest from $175.00 to $155.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Weiss Ratings cut ArcBest from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a report on Thursday, May 28th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded ArcBest from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $154.23.

ArcBest Stock Down 4.2%

Shares of ARCB stock opened at $134.45 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $3.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 194.86, a PEG ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 1.57. ArcBest Corporation has a 52 week low of $59.43 and a 52 week high of $176.69. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $145.61 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $125.34.

ArcBest (NASDAQ:ARCB - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The transportation company reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.26 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $1.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.17 billion. ArcBest had a return on equity of 7.92% and a net margin of 0.39%.The business's revenue was up 15.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.36 earnings per share. Analysts predict that ArcBest Corporation will post 6.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ArcBest Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 21st. Shareholders 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 payout ratio is presently 69.57%.

Insider Activity at ArcBest

In other news, Director Judy R. Mcreynolds sold 2,857 shares of the company'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 transaction of $397,065.86. Following the sale, the director directly owned 50,048 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,955,671.04. This represents a 5.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Erin K. Gattis sold 6,163 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.00, for a total transaction of $862,820.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 24,286 shares in the company, valued at $3,400,040. This represents a 20.24% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 11,963 shares of company stock worth $1,678,066 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.98% of the company's stock.

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.

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