ArcBest (NASDAQ:ARCB) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at Stephens

Stephens upgraded shares of ArcBest (NASDAQ:ARCB) to a strong-buy rating in a research report released on Wednesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings cut ArcBest from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of ArcBest from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of ArcBest from $116.00 to $134.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of ArcBest from $130.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, June 5th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of ArcBest from $137.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, ArcBest presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $149.83.

ArcBest Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ARCB opened at $145.87 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $138.61 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $111.19. ArcBest has a 52-week low of $59.43 and a 52-week high of $176.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 60.03, a P/E/G ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 1.57.

ArcBest (NASDAQ:ARCB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The transportation company reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.27 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $998.79 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $999.07 million. ArcBest had a return on equity of 6.15% and a net margin of 1.38%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.51 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that ArcBest will post 6.11 earnings per share for the current year.

ArcBest Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, May 8th were issued a $0.12 dividend. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 8th. ArcBest’s payout ratio is presently 19.75%.

Institutional Trading of ArcBest

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ARCB. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its stake in shares of ArcBest by 100.8% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 87,256 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $6,734,000 after acquiring an additional 43,803 shares in the last quarter. Aberdeen Group plc acquired a new stake in shares of ArcBest during the fourth quarter worth $7,240,000. Unison Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of ArcBest in the 4th quarter valued at $780,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in ArcBest by 349.9% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 493,780 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $36,634,000 after purchasing an additional 384,024 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its holdings in ArcBest by 19,008.1% during the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 122,292 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $9,073,000 after buying an additional 121,652 shares during the period. 99.27% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About ArcBest

ArcBest Corporation (NASDAQ: ARCB) is a transportation and logistics company that offers comprehensive freight and supply chain solutions across North America. Founded in 1923 as Arkansas Best Freight System, the company has evolved into a diversified service provider with both asset-based and asset-light operations. Its core businesses include less-than-truckload (LTL) shipping through ABF Freight, expedited full-truckload services via Panther Premium Logistics, and a range of logistics and supply chain management services under its ArcBest Integrated Logistics division.

The company’s asset-based operations also encompass FleetNet America, a provider of emergency roadside assistance and maintenance services for heavy-duty vehicles.