10,139 Shares in ArcBest Co. (NASDAQ:ARCB) Acquired by Advisors Preferred LLC

Advisors Preferred LLC acquired a new position in shares of ArcBest Co. (NASDAQ:ARCB - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 10,139 shares of the transportation company's stock, valued at approximately $1,227,000.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Horrell Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of ArcBest by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Horrell Capital Management Inc. now owns 29,224 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $3,513,000 after acquiring an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors increased its position in shares of ArcBest by 2.6% during the 2nd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 4,116 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $407,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. Guidance Capital Inc. increased its position in shares of ArcBest by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. Guidance Capital Inc. now owns 2,785 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $274,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares during the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV increased its position in shares of ArcBest by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 4,366 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $444,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased its position in shares of ArcBest by 14.0% during the 3rd quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 1,297 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $95,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares during the last quarter. 99.27% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

ArcBest Stock Up 4.3 %

Shares of ARCB traded up $6.13 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $149.87. 247,866 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 341,254. ArcBest Co. has a 52 week low of $82.18 and a 52 week high of $149.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The company's 50 day moving average is $137.27 and its two-hundred day moving average is $120.69. The company has a market capitalization of $3.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.95, a PEG ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 1.49.

ArcBest (NASDAQ:ARCB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The transportation company reported $2.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.22 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $1.09 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.09 billion. ArcBest had a return on equity of 15.91% and a net margin of 4.41%. The business's revenue was down 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.45 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that ArcBest Co. will post 10.15 earnings per share for the current year.

ArcBest Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Investors of record on Friday, February 16th were paid a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.32%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 15th. ArcBest's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 6.07%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on ARCB. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on ArcBest in a research report on Monday, January 29th. They set a "buy" rating and a $148.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com raised ArcBest from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on ArcBest from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Stephens upped their price objective on ArcBest from $165.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on ArcBest from $153.00 to $159.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, ArcBest currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $146.69.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Erin K. Gattis sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.58, for a total transaction of $283,160.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 32,247 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,565,530.26. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.65% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.