Vanguard Group Inc. Increases Stake in ArcBest Co. (NASDAQ:ARCB)

Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in ArcBest Co. (NASDAQ:ARCB) by 0.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 2,771,123 shares of the transportation company’s stock after buying an additional 20,665 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 11.84% of ArcBest worth $258,601,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its stake in shares of ArcBest by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 6,856 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $640,000 after buying an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. Stephens Inc. AR increased its holdings in shares of ArcBest by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 8,128 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $758,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in shares of ArcBest by 146.3% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 298 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC increased its position in ArcBest by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 4,123 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $453,000 after acquiring an additional 213 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV raised its stake in shares of ArcBest by 34.9% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,148 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $107,000 after purchasing an additional 297 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.27% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at ArcBest

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

ArcBest Price Performance

NASDAQ:ARCB opened at $63.63 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.47 billion, a PE ratio of 8.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.55. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $81.99 and a 200 day simple moving average of $96.75. ArcBest Co. has a 1-year low of $57.80 and a 1-year high of $153.61. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10.

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

ArcBest Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of ArcBest from $160.00 to $145.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on ArcBest from $126.00 to $108.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Truist Financial began coverage on shares of ArcBest in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $93.00 price objective on the stock. Bank of America dropped their target price on ArcBest from $100.00 to $73.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of ArcBest from $96.00 to $80.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $107.00.

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.