ArcBest Corporation (NASDAQ:ARCB) Plans $0.12 Quarterly Dividend

ArcBest Corporation (NASDAQ:ARCB) declared a quarterly dividend on Friday, April 24th. Investors of record on Friday, May 8th will be paid a dividend of 0.12 per share by the transportation company on Friday, May 22nd. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 8th.

ArcBest has raised its dividend payment by an average of 0.1%per year over the last three years. ArcBest has a payout ratio of 6.6% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect ArcBest to earn $8.17 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.48 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 5.9%.

ArcBest Price Performance

Shares of ARCB opened at $118.17 on Wednesday. ArcBest has a 12-month low of $58.16 and a 12-month high of $135.10. The business’s fifty day moving average is $103.49 and its 200 day moving average is $88.53. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The stock has a market cap of $2.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.63, a P/E/G ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 1.55.

ArcBest (NASDAQ:ARCB) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The transportation company reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.27 by $0.05. ArcBest had a return on equity of 6.15% and a net margin of 1.38%.The company had revenue of $998.79 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $999.07 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.51 EPS. ArcBest’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that ArcBest will post 5.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ArcBest

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in ARCB. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of ArcBest by 625.4% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 920,498 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $68,292,000 after purchasing an additional 793,607 shares during the last quarter. Turtle Creek Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of ArcBest during the 3rd quarter valued at $39,508,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of ArcBest by 349.9% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 493,780 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $36,634,000 after purchasing an additional 384,024 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its position in shares of ArcBest by 158.7% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 490,064 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $37,740,000 after purchasing an additional 300,642 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Encompass Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of ArcBest during the 4th quarter valued at $20,402,000. 99.27% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.