ArcBest (NASDAQ:ARCB) Raised to “Strong-Buy” at Stephens

ArcBest (NASDAQ:ARCB) was upgraded by investment analysts at Stephens to a “strong-buy” rating in a report released on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

ARCB has been the subject of several other research reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of ArcBest from $150.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. UBS Group raised their price target on ArcBest from $122.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Wall Street Zen raised ArcBest from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on ArcBest from $95.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on ArcBest from $138.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, June 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, ArcBest presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $149.83.

ArcBest Trading Up 0.5%

NASDAQ ARCB opened at $145.87 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $138.61 and its two-hundred day moving average is $111.19. ArcBest has a 12 month low of $59.43 and a 12 month high of $176.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 60.03, a PEG ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 1.57.

ArcBest (NASDAQ:ARCB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The transportation company reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 net margin of 1.38% and a return on equity of 6.15%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.51 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that ArcBest will post 6.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ArcBest

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of ArcBest by 625.4% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 920,498 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $68,292,000 after purchasing an additional 793,607 shares in the last quarter. Turtle Creek Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in ArcBest during the 3rd quarter worth about $39,508,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of ArcBest by 349.9% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 493,780 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $36,634,000 after acquiring an additional 384,024 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position in shares of ArcBest by 158.7% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 490,064 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $37,740,000 after acquiring an additional 300,642 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Encompass Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of ArcBest in the 4th quarter valued at about $20,402,000. 99.27% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.