KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Acquires New Position in ArcBest Co. (NASDAQ:ARCB)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new position in shares of ArcBest Co. (NASDAQ:ARCB) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm bought 4,700 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $439,000.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp lifted its stake in ArcBest by 1.9% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 957,410 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $103,831,000 after purchasing an additional 17,542 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of ArcBest by 16.3% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 618,919 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $57,758,000 after purchasing an additional 86,867 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of ArcBest by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 551,821 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $59,856,000 after buying an additional 3,475 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of ArcBest by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 426,155 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $39,769,000 after buying an additional 11,894 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in ArcBest by 6.0% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 232,627 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $21,709,000 after acquiring an additional 13,152 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 99.27% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO John Matthew Beasley bought 700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $74.89 per share, with a total value of $52,423.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief financial officer now owns 8,142 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $609,754.38. The trade was a 9.41 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.28% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on ARCB shares. Truist Financial assumed coverage on ArcBest in a report on Thursday, March 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $93.00 price objective for the company. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $116.00 price target on shares of ArcBest in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of ArcBest from $100.00 to $73.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of ArcBest from $103.00 to $83.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of ArcBest from $110.00 to $100.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $107.00.

ArcBest Stock Performance

Shares of ARCB stock opened at $63.63 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.68, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.01. ArcBest Co. has a 52 week low of $57.80 and a 52 week high of $153.61. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $81.99 and a 200 day simple moving average of $96.75.

ArcBest (NASDAQ:ARCB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The transportation company reported $1.33 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.22. ArcBest had a net margin of 4.16% and a return on equity of 11.79%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.47 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that ArcBest Co. will post 7 earnings per share for the current year.

ArcBest Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 11th were given a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.75%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 11th. ArcBest’s dividend payout ratio is currently 6.55%.

ArcBest 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.