ArcBest Co. (NASDAQ:ARCB) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of ArcBest Co. (NASDAQ:ARCB) have received an average rating of “Hold” from the twelve research firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, seven have given a hold recommendation and four have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $118.91.

ARCB has been the topic of several recent research reports. UBS Group decreased their price objective on ArcBest from $110.00 to $100.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of ArcBest from $109.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of ArcBest from $160.00 to $145.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of ArcBest from $110.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on ArcBest from $105.00 to $96.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd.

ArcBest Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ARCB opened at $74.19 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.72 billion, a PE ratio of 10.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.54. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $91.63 and its 200-day moving average price is $100.92. ArcBest has a twelve month low of $71.57 and a twelve month high of $153.61.

ArcBest (NASDAQ:ARCB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The transportation company reported $1.33 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 period in the prior year, the company earned $2.47 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that ArcBest will post 7 EPS for the current year.

ArcBest Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 11th were given a dividend of $0.12 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 11th. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.65%. ArcBest’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 6.55%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ArcBest

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in ArcBest by 146.3% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 298 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 177 shares during the period. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in ArcBest during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Quest Partners LLC increased its position in shares of ArcBest by 60.6% in the 3rd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 546 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $59,000 after acquiring an additional 206 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of ArcBest by 471.9% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 549 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 453 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Avior Wealth Management LLC raised its position in ArcBest by 17.9% during the 3rd quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 625 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $68,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. 99.27% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About ArcBest

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.