ArcBest Co. (NASDAQ:ARCB) Short Interest Down 7.0% in April

ArcBest Co. (NASDAQ:ARCB - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest in the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,320,000 shares, a decrease of 7.0% from the March 31st total of 1,420,000 shares. Currently, 5.7% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 328,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.0 days.

ArcBest Price Performance

ARCB stock traded up $1.56 during trading on Monday, hitting $129.45. 393,790 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 306,628. ArcBest has a one year low of $82.18 and a one year high of $153.60. The stock has a market cap of $3.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.17, a P/E/G ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 1.49. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $140.02 and a 200 day simple moving average of $125.40. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

ArcBest (NASDAQ:ARCB - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The transportation company reported $2.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.22 by $0.25. ArcBest had a net margin of 4.41% and a return on equity of 15.91%. The company had revenue of $1.09 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.09 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.45 earnings per share. The company's revenue was down 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that ArcBest will post 10.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ArcBest Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 16th were given a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 15th. ArcBest's dividend payout ratio is 6.07%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ARCB has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of ArcBest from $141.00 to $178.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of ArcBest from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of ArcBest from $119.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of ArcBest from $153.00 to $159.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of ArcBest from $133.00 to $149.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, ArcBest has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $151.54.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Erin K. Gattis sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.58, for a total value of $283,160.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 32,247 shares in the company, valued at $4,565,530.26. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ArcBest

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Horrell Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of ArcBest by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Horrell Capital Management Inc. now owns 29,371 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $4,185,000 after buying an additional 147 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its holdings in ArcBest by 868.0% during the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 2,120 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $302,000 after purchasing an additional 1,901 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in ArcBest by 9.6% during the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 165,175 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $23,537,000 after purchasing an additional 14,463 shares during the period. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC lifted its stake in ArcBest by 1.6% in the first quarter. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC now owns 8,216 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $1,171,000 after buying an additional 129 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Contravisory Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in ArcBest by 70.9% in the first quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. now owns 188 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.27% of the company's stock.

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.