ArcBest (NASDAQ:ARCB) Reaches New 12-Month High After Analyst Upgrade

ArcBest Corporation (NASDAQ:ARCB)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday after JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on the stock from $76.00 to $81.00. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has a neutral rating on the stock. ArcBest traded as high as $102.70 and last traded at $101.56, with a volume of 28565 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $99.75.

Several other research firms have also weighed in on ARCB. Stephens set a $85.00 price objective on shares of ArcBest in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on ArcBest from $95.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of ArcBest in a report on Friday, January 9th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of ArcBest from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Sunday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of ArcBest from $85.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, ArcBest currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $95.25.

Institutional Trading of ArcBest

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of ArcBest by 433.3% during the 2nd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 384 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 312 shares in the last quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. acquired a new position in ArcBest in the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. FNY Investment Advisers LLC bought a new stake in ArcBest in the second quarter valued at about $51,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in ArcBest by 26.9% in the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 675 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 143 shares during the period. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new position in ArcBest during the second quarter worth about $85,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.27% of the company’s stock.

ArcBest Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 0.95. The company has a market capitalization of $2.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 11.38 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $79.59 and a 200-day moving average price of $74.72.

ArcBest (NASDAQ:ARCB) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The transportation company reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by ($0.09). ArcBest had a net margin of 1.50% and a return on equity of 6.51%. The business had revenue of $972.69 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $963.74 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.33 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that ArcBest Corporation will post 7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ArcBest Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 24th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.12 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 10th. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. ArcBest’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.39%.

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.