Empirical Asset Management LLC Makes New $677,000 Investment in ArcBest Corporation $ARCB

Empirical Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in ArcBest Corporation (NASDAQ:ARCB) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 4,719 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $677,000.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in ArcBest by 300.3% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 26,896 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,898,000 after buying an additional 20,177 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its position in shares of ArcBest by 4.6% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 14,017 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $989,000 after acquiring an additional 619 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its stake in shares of ArcBest by 215.8% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 153,138 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $10,808,000 after acquiring an additional 104,643 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC increased its position in ArcBest by 278.2% during the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 45,591 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $3,218,000 after acquiring an additional 33,537 shares during the period. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC increased its position in ArcBest by 3.4% during the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 20,135 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,421,000 after acquiring an additional 655 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.27% of the company’s stock.

ArcBest Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ARCB opened at $138.81 on Wednesday. ArcBest Corporation has a one year low of $59.43 and a one year high of $176.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The company has a market cap of $3.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 201.17, a PEG ratio of 0.47 and a beta of 1.57. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $148.14 and a 200 day simple moving average of $124.14.

ArcBest (NASDAQ:ARCB) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The transportation company reported $2.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.26 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $1.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.17 billion. ArcBest had a net margin of 0.39% and a return on equity of 7.92%. The company’s revenue was up 15.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.36 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that ArcBest Corporation will post 6.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ArcBest Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 21st. Investors of record on Friday, August 7th will be given a dividend of $0.12 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 7th. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. ArcBest’s payout ratio is currently 69.57%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other ArcBest news, Director Judy R. Mcreynolds sold 2,857 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.98, for a total value of $397,065.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 50,048 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,955,671.04. This represents a 5.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Erin K. Gattis sold 6,163 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.00, for a total value of $862,820.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 24,286 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,400,040. This represents a 20.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 11,963 shares of company stock worth $1,678,066 in the last 90 days. 0.98% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on ARCB. Wall Street Zen raised shares of ArcBest from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of ArcBest from $117.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, June 8th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of ArcBest from $150.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Stephens upgraded ArcBest to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded ArcBest from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, ArcBest has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $154.23.

ArcBest Company Profile

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.