ArcBest Corporation (NASDAQ:ARCB) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

ArcBest Corporation (NASDAQ:ARCB) has been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the fifteen research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, seven have issued a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $154.2308.

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of ArcBest from $117.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of ArcBest from $138.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, June 5th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of ArcBest from $145.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Stephens raised shares of ArcBest to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of ArcBest from $150.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th.

Insider Activity at ArcBest

In other news, Director Judy R. Mcreynolds sold 2,857 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.98, for a total transaction of $397,065.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 50,048 shares in the company, valued at $6,955,671.04. This trade represents a 5.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Erin K. Gattis sold 6,163 shares of ArcBest stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.00, for a total value of $862,820.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 24,286 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,400,040. This represents a 20.24% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 12,818 shares of company stock valued at $1,793,568 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.98% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of ArcBest

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Tidal Investments LLC purchased a new position in ArcBest in the second quarter worth about $638,000. WINTON GROUP Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of ArcBest during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,679,000. Engineers Gate Manager LP bought a new stake in shares of ArcBest during the second quarter valued at approximately $894,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC bought a new stake in shares of ArcBest during the second quarter valued at approximately $4,194,000. Finally, Nykredit A S purchased a new position in ArcBest in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $75,000. 99.27% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

ArcBest Trading Down 0.2%

NASDAQ ARCB opened at $128.73 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.88 billion, a PE ratio of 186.57, a P/E/G ratio of 0.40 and a beta of 1.55. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $141.84 and its 200 day moving average is $129.33. ArcBest has a twelve month low of $59.43 and a twelve month high of $176.69. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10.

ArcBest (NASDAQ:ARCB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The transportation company reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.26 by $0.12. ArcBest had a return on equity of 7.92% and a net margin of 0.39%.The business had revenue of $1.18 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.17 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.36 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 15.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that ArcBest will post 6.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ArcBest Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 21st. Investors of record on Friday, August 7th were paid a $0.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 7th. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. ArcBest’s dividend payout ratio is presently 69.57%.

About ArcBest

ArcBest Corporation (NASDAQ: ARCB) is a North American logistics company headquartered in Fort Smith, Arkansas. Through its subsidiaries and service offerings, the company provides freight transportation, supply chain management and logistics solutions for businesses of various sizes.

Its asset-based operations are primarily conducted through ABF Freight, a less-than-truckload carrier that transports palletized and other freight across the United States, Canada and Mexico. ABF Freight offers regional, interregional and long-haul services, as well as time-critical, expedited, guaranteed and specialized transportation solutions.

ArcBest also provides asset-light logistics services, including truckload, expedited, final-mile, intermodal, international and managed transportation solutions.