ArcBest (NASDAQ:ARCB) Shares Gap Up on Strong Earnings

ArcBest Co. (NASDAQ:ARCB)’s share price gapped up before the market opened on Friday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock had previously closed at $94.51, but opened at $103.14. ArcBest shares last traded at $94.09, with a volume of 39,537 shares traded.

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 14.27% and a net margin of 4.54%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.47 EPS.

ArcBest Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.12 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 11th. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.50%. ArcBest’s payout ratio is currently 5.93%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on ARCB shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on ArcBest from $130.00 to $117.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on ArcBest from $133.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on ArcBest from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. UBS Group dropped their target price on ArcBest from $111.00 to $110.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on ArcBest from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $122.91.

Insider Transactions at ArcBest

In other ArcBest news, Director Craig E. Philip sold 3,900 shares of ArcBest stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $109.91, for a total transaction of $428,649.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 23,250 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,555,407.50. The trade was a 14.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Michael E. Newcity sold 10,443 shares of ArcBest stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.60, for a total value of $1,259,425.80. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 5,051 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $609,150.60. This represents a 67.40 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.65% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of ArcBest

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ARCB. Squarepoint Ops LLC acquired a new stake in ArcBest during the 2nd quarter worth about $1,624,000. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in ArcBest by 52.6% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 10,227 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,095,000 after acquiring an additional 3,525 shares during the period. Creative Planning lifted its position in ArcBest by 30.0% during the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 4,584 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $491,000 after acquiring an additional 1,057 shares during the period. Quarry LP lifted its position in ArcBest by 120.7% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 245 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 134 shares during the period. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in ArcBest during the 2nd quarter worth about $419,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.27% of the company’s stock.

ArcBest Price Performance

The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $101.30 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $105.88. The firm has a market cap of $2.24 billion, a PE ratio of 11.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.04.

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.