ArcBest Corporation (NASDAQ:ARCB) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

ArcBest Corporation (NASDAQ:ARCB) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the fourteen research firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $97.00.

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Stephens set a $85.00 target price on ArcBest in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of ArcBest from $76.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of ArcBest from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Sunday. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of ArcBest from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of ArcBest from $96.00 to $94.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday.

ArcBest Stock Up 0.1%

ARCB opened at $109.65 on Friday. ArcBest has a 1 year low of $55.19 and a 1 year high of $110.41. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $82.20 and a 200 day moving average price of $75.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 0.95. The company has a market cap of $2.47 billion, a PE ratio of 42.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 14.33 and a beta of 1.54.

ArcBest (NASDAQ:ARCB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 30th. The transportation company reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.45 by ($0.09). The business had revenue of $972.69 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $963.74 million. ArcBest had a return on equity of 6.51% and a net margin of 1.50%.ArcBest’s quarterly revenue was down 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.33 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that ArcBest will post 7 earnings per share for the current year.

ArcBest Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 24th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 10th. ArcBest’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.39%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ArcBest

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Stephens Inc. AR grew its position in shares of ArcBest by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 6,909 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $535,000 after buying an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its holdings in ArcBest by 19,008.1% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 122,292 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $9,073,000 after acquiring an additional 121,652 shares in the last quarter. Seelaus Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in ArcBest by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Seelaus Asset Management LLC now owns 3,710 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $275,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of ArcBest by 349.9% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 493,780 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $36,634,000 after purchasing an additional 384,024 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AMG National Trust Bank increased its position in shares of ArcBest by 102.1% in the 4th quarter. AMG National Trust Bank now owns 24,349 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,806,000 after purchasing an additional 12,300 shares during the last quarter. 99.27% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.