ArcBest (NASDAQ:ARCB) Sets New 1-Year Low – Here’s What Happened

ArcBest Co. (NASDAQ:ARCB) reached a new 52-week low during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $80.42 and last traded at $80.98, with a volume of 166097 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $83.55.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on ARCB. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on ArcBest from $109.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of ArcBest from $130.00 to $117.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Citigroup raised their target price on ArcBest from $110.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of ArcBest from $105.00 to $96.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of ArcBest from $160.00 to $145.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $118.91.

ArcBest Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.01. The company has a market capitalization of $1.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.00, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.51. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $95.01 and its 200 day moving average is $102.86.

ArcBest (NASDAQ:ARCB) last released 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 quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.47 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that ArcBest Co. will post 7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ArcBest Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 11th were issued a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.60%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 11th. ArcBest’s payout ratio is 6.55%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ArcBest

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

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.