Citigroup Cuts ArcBest (NASDAQ:ARCB) Price Target to $171.00

ArcBest (NASDAQ:ARCB) had its price target reduced by Citigroup from $178.00 to $171.00 in a research note published on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the transportation company’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on ARCB. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of ArcBest from $138.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, June 5th. Zacks Research upgraded ArcBest from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Wall Street Zen raised ArcBest from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Citizens Jmp assumed coverage on ArcBest in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. They set a “market outperform” rating and a $180.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on ArcBest from $145.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, ArcBest presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $154.23.

ArcBest Stock Down 4.5%

ARCB stock opened at $135.25 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $149.66 and a 200-day simple moving average of $121.22. The company has a market capitalization of $3.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 196.01, a PEG ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 1.57. ArcBest has a twelve month low of $59.43 and a twelve month high of $176.69.

ArcBest (NASDAQ:ARCB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The transportation company reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was up 15.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.36 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that ArcBest will post 6.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ArcBest Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 7th will be given a $0.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 7th. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. ArcBest’s dividend payout ratio is 69.57%.

Insider Activity at ArcBest

In other ArcBest news, Director Judy R. Mcreynolds sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.78, for a total value of $217,170.00. Following the sale, the director owned 61,348 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,881,963.44. This trade represents a 2.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Erin K. Gattis sold 6,163 shares of ArcBest stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.00, for a total value of $862,820.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 24,286 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,400,040. This trade represents a 20.24% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.98% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ARCB. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of ArcBest by 625.4% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Turtle Creek Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in ArcBest in the 3rd quarter valued at about $39,508,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in ArcBest by 349.9% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 493,780 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $36,634,000 after buying an additional 384,024 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised 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 worth $37,740,000 after buying an additional 300,642 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Encompass Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of ArcBest in the 4th quarter worth approximately $20,402,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.27% of the company’s stock.

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.