ArcBest Corporation (NASDAQ:ARCB) Announces Quarterly Dividend of $0.12

ArcBest Corporation (NASDAQ:ARCB) announced a quarterly dividend on Friday, October 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 13th will be given a dividend of $0.12 per share by the transportation company on Friday, November 27th. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 13th.

ArcBest has increased its dividend payment by an average of 0.1% annually over the last three years. ArcBest has a dividend payout ratio of 6.6% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect ArcBest to earn $9.83 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.48 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 4.9%.

ArcBest Trading Up 1.0%

NASDAQ:ARCB opened at $133.85 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $131.02 and its 200 day moving average price is $125.77. The company has a market capitalization of $2.95 billion, a PE ratio of 105.39, a P/E/G ratio of 0.37 and a beta of 1.71. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. ArcBest has a 52-week low of $59.43 and a 52-week high of $176.69.

ArcBest (NASDAQ:ARCB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The transportation company reported $2.62 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.50 by $0.12. ArcBest had a return on equity of 9.93% and a net margin of 0.66%. The company had revenue of $1.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.20 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.46 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 15.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that ArcBest will post 7.42 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Ralph Edward Sorg sold 6,000 shares of ArcBest stock in a transaction on Monday, November 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.28, for a total value of $787,680.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 16,624 shares in the company, valued at $2,182,398.72. This trade represents a 26.52% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Jason T. Parks sold 855 shares of ArcBest stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.09, for a total transaction of $115,501.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 3,794 shares in the company, valued at approximately $512,531.46. This trade represents a 18.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 0.98% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of ArcBest

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its holdings in ArcBest by 20.3% in the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 91,998 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $11,939,000 after purchasing an additional 15,517 shares in the last quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. purchased a new position in shares of ArcBest during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $7,745,000. Intech Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of ArcBest by 8.8% during the 3rd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 19,997 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,548,000 after buying an additional 1,617 shares in the last quarter. Virtus Advisers LLC lifted its holdings in shares of ArcBest by 127.2% in the 3rd quarter. Virtus Advisers LLC now owns 6,056 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $772,000 after buying an additional 3,391 shares during the period. Finally, Aberdeen Group plc lifted its holdings in shares of ArcBest by 20.9% in the 3rd quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 127,234 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $16,215,000 after buying an additional 21,953 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.27% of the company’s stock.

ArcBest Company Profile

ArcBest Corporation is a transportation and logistics company headquartered in Fort Smith, Arkansas. Its services include less-than-truckload freight through ABF Freight, as well as truckload, expedited transportation, freight brokerage, managed transportation and other supply chain solutions. The company serves businesses across North America and supports shipments to and from international markets through its transportation and logistics network. ArcBest traces its roots to 1923, when its predecessor began providing freight transportation services in Arkansas.