ArcBest (NASDAQ:ARCB) Reaches New 12-Month Low Following Weak Earnings

ArcBest Co. (NASDAQ:ARCB)’s stock price hit a new 52-week low on Tuesday after the company announced weaker than expected quarterly earnings. The company traded as low as $57.22 and last traded at $58.61, with a volume of 34084 shares. The stock had previously closed at $59.10.

The transportation company reported $0.51 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by ($0.01). ArcBest had a net margin of 4.16% and a return on equity of 11.79%. The company had revenue of $967.08 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $990.03 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.34 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year.

ArcBest Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, May 9th will be given a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.82%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 9th. ArcBest’s dividend payout ratio is currently 6.55%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on ARCB. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of ArcBest from $96.00 to $80.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price 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. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on ArcBest from $108.00 to $97.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of ArcBest from $110.00 to $100.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their price target on ArcBest from $93.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $101.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO John Matthew Beasley bought 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, with a total value of $52,423.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer now owns 8,142 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $609,754.38. This represents a 9.41 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 1.28% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of ArcBest

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Arizona State Retirement System grew its holdings in ArcBest by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 6,856 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $640,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares during the period. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its position in ArcBest by 6.8% during the fourth quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 2,463 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $230,000 after acquiring an additional 157 shares during the last quarter. Stephens Inc. AR boosted its holdings in shares of ArcBest by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 8,128 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $758,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in shares of 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 last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in ArcBest by 34.9% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,148 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $107,000 after purchasing an additional 297 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.27% of the company’s stock.

ArcBest Trading Down 0.7 %

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 stock has a market capitalization of $1.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.62. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $70.30 and a 200 day simple moving average of $91.07.

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.