ArcBest (NASDAQ:ARCB) Shares Down 12.9% After Earnings Miss

Shares of ArcBest Co. (NASDAQ:ARCB) traded down 12.9% during mid-day trading on Tuesday following a weaker than expected earnings announcement. The company traded as low as $112.58 and last traded at $112.72. 175,399 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 42% from the average session volume of 304,269 shares. The stock had previously closed at $129.45.

The transportation company reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.53 by ($0.19). ArcBest had a return on equity of 15.27% and a net margin of 2.80%. The company had revenue of $1.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.03 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.58 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year.

ArcBest Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.12 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 9th. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.44%. ArcBest’s dividend payout ratio is 9.66%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on ARCB shares. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on ArcBest from $133.00 to $149.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. StockNews.com raised ArcBest from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Stephens upped their target price on ArcBest from $165.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on ArcBest from $153.00 to $159.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. Finally, Bank of America cut their target price on ArcBest from $143.00 to $110.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $143.38.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Erin K. Gattis sold 2,000 shares of the 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 owns 32,247 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,565,530.26. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.65% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of ArcBest

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of ArcBest by 49.3% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 227 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in ArcBest by 70.9% in the 1st quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. now owns 188 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Horrell Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in ArcBest by 0.3% in 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 during the last quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC raised its stake in ArcBest by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 7,572 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $910,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Finally, 1492 Capital Management LLC raised its stake in ArcBest by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. 1492 Capital Management LLC now owns 10,605 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,275,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.27% of the company’s stock.

ArcBest Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $2.55 billion, a PE ratio of 21.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.48 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.23. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $138.58 and a 200-day moving average of $125.60.

ArcBest Company Profile

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.