ArcBest (NASDAQ:ARCB) Hits New 1-Year Low – Here’s Why

Shares of ArcBest Co. (NASDAQ:ARCB) hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $70.53 and last traded at $71.43, with a volume of 95910 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $72.45.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on ARCB shares. UBS Group cut their price target on ArcBest from $110.00 to $100.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on ArcBest from $105.00 to $96.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Bank of America cut their price target on ArcBest from $100.00 to $73.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $116.00 price target on shares of ArcBest in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on ArcBest from $126.00 to $108.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $108.33.

ArcBest Trading Down 1.1 %

The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $89.16 and its 200 day simple moving average is $99.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.04.

ArcBest (NASDAQ:ARCB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The transportation company reported $1.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 in the prior year, the firm earned $2.47 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect 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. 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.67%. ArcBest’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 6.55%.

Insider Transactions at ArcBest

In related news, CFO John Matthew Beasley acquired 700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $74.89 per share, for a total transaction of $52,423.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief financial officer now directly owns 8,142 shares of the company’s stock, 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 SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.65% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of ArcBest

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in 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. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in ArcBest in the fourth quarter valued at $40,000. Quest Partners LLC increased its holdings in ArcBest by 60.6% in the third quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 546 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 206 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in ArcBest by 471.9% during the fourth 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 last quarter. Finally, Avior Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in ArcBest by 17.9% during the third quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 625 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $68,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. 99.27% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.