ArcBest (NASDAQ:ARCB) Shares Gap Up on Strong Earnings

Shares of ArcBest Co. (NASDAQ:ARCB) gapped up prior to trading on Friday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $94.51, but opened at $103.14. ArcBest shares last traded at $94.09, with a volume of 39,537 shares.

The transportation company reported $1.33 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.22. ArcBest had a return on equity of 14.27% and a net margin of 4.54%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.47 earnings per share.

ArcBest Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 11th will be given a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 11th. ArcBest’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 5.93%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on ARCB shares. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on ArcBest from $133.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on ArcBest from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on ArcBest from $130.00 to $117.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 4th. TD Cowen cut ArcBest from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $131.00 to $114.00 in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on ArcBest from $115.00 to $105.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $122.91.

Insider Transactions at ArcBest

In related news, Director Craig E. Philip sold 3,900 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $109.91, for a total transaction of $428,649.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 23,250 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,555,407.50. This represents a 14.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Michael E. Newcity sold 10,443 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.60, for a total value of $1,259,425.80. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 5,051 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $609,150.60. The trade was a 67.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.65% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ArcBest

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ARCB. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in ArcBest by 24.6% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 221,507 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $24,022,000 after purchasing an additional 43,707 shares during the period. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in shares of ArcBest by 342.5% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 43,134 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $4,678,000 after buying an additional 33,386 shares during the period. Partners Group Holding AG raised its holdings in shares of ArcBest by 51.5% in the third quarter. Partners Group Holding AG now owns 87,842 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $9,526,000 after buying an additional 29,849 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of ArcBest by 5.6% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 414,261 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $44,927,000 after buying an additional 21,905 shares during the period. Finally, Citigroup Inc. raised its holdings in shares of ArcBest by 91.1% in the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 45,313 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $4,914,000 after buying an additional 21,606 shares during the period. 99.27% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

ArcBest Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $101.30 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $105.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.24 billion, a PE ratio of 11.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.53.

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.