Towle & Co. Lowers Holdings in ArcBest Corporation $ARCB

Key Points

• Towle & Co. reduced its ArcBest stake by 37.4% in the first quarter, selling 47,785 shares and leaving it with 80,114 shares valued at about $7.88 million. ArcBest still represented about 3.0% of the fund’s portfolio.
• Wall Street sentiment on ArcBest remains constructive, with several analysts lifting price targets and updates including Stephens upgrading the stock to strong-buy. The consensus rating is “Moderate Buy,” with a consensus price target of $155.08.
• ArcBest reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings, posting EPS of $0.32 versus estimates of $0.27, while revenue came in near expectations at $998.79 million. The stock recently traded at $156.99, near its 52-week high of $176.69.

Towle & Co. lessened its stake in shares of ArcBest Corporation (NASDAQ:ARCB - Free Report) by 37.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 80,114 shares of the transportation company's stock after selling 47,785 shares during the quarter. ArcBest comprises about 3.0% of Towle & Co.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest holding. Towle & Co. owned 0.36% of ArcBest worth $7,880,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its position in ArcBest by 100.8% in the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 87,256 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $6,734,000 after acquiring an additional 43,803 shares in the last quarter. Aberdeen Group plc bought a new stake in shares of ArcBest during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $7,240,000. Unison Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of ArcBest in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $780,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of ArcBest by 349.9% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 493,780 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $36,634,000 after purchasing an additional 384,024 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its position in ArcBest by 19,008.1% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 122,292 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $9,073,000 after purchasing an additional 121,652 shares during the last quarter. 99.27% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on ARCB. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on ArcBest from $130.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, June 5th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on ArcBest from $137.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Stephens raised ArcBest to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Citizens Jmp initiated coverage on ArcBest in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. They issued a "market outperform" rating and a $180.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded ArcBest from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, ArcBest presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $155.08.

ArcBest Stock Performance

Shares of ArcBest stock opened at $156.99 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $146.06 and a two-hundred day moving average of $117.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 0.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 64.61, a PEG ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 1.57. ArcBest Corporation has a 52 week low of $59.43 and a 52 week high of $176.69.

ArcBest (NASDAQ:ARCB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The transportation company reported $0.32 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.27 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $998.79 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $999.07 million. ArcBest had a return on equity of 6.15% and a net margin of 1.38%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.51 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that ArcBest Corporation will post 6.62 EPS for the current year.

ArcBest Company Profile

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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