Morgan Stanley Cuts ArcBest (NASDAQ:ARCB) Price Target to $145.00

ArcBest (NASDAQ:ARCB) had its target price trimmed by Morgan Stanley from $160.00 to $145.00 in a research report sent to investors on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the transportation company’s stock.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on ARCB. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on shares of ArcBest from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on ArcBest from $133.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on ArcBest from $115.00 to $105.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on ArcBest from $111.00 to $110.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Wolfe Research cut shares of ArcBest from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, ArcBest currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $118.91.

ArcBest Price Performance

ARCB opened at $95.65 on Monday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $100.17 and a 200 day moving average of $105.21. The stock has a market cap of $2.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.05, a PEG ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.51. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. ArcBest has a 52-week low of $90.25 and a 52-week high of $153.60.

ArcBest (NASDAQ:ARCB) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The transportation company reported $1.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.22. ArcBest had a net margin of 4.16% and a return on equity of 11.79%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.47 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that ArcBest will post 7.5 EPS for the current year.

ArcBest Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 11th will be given a $0.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 11th. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.50%. ArcBest’s payout ratio is 6.55%.

Insider Activity at ArcBest

In other ArcBest news, Director Craig E. Philip sold 3,900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $109.91, for a total value 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. This trade represents a 14.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ArcBest

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Quarry LP grew 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 purchasing an additional 134 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of ArcBest by 146.3% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 298 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 177 shares during the last quarter. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in shares of ArcBest in the 4th quarter valued at $40,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in ArcBest by 63.7% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 514 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $56,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quest Partners LLC raised its stake in ArcBest by 60.6% in the 3rd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 546 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $59,000 after acquiring an additional 206 shares during the last quarter. 99.27% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About ArcBest

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.