ArcBest (NASDAQ:ARCB) Hits New 52-Week Low – What’s Next?

Shares of ArcBest Co. (NASDAQ:ARCB) hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $74.05 and last traded at $74.54, with a volume of 429342 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $78.77.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on ARCB shares. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of ArcBest from $105.00 to $96.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on ArcBest from $160.00 to $145.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of ArcBest from $109.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of ArcBest from $110.00 to $100.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of ArcBest from $110.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $118.91.

ArcBest Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $92.73 and its 200 day simple moving average is $101.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.51.

ArcBest (NASDAQ:ARCB) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The transportation company reported $1.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.22. ArcBest had a return on equity of 11.79% and a net margin of 4.16%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.47 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that ArcBest Co. will post 7 earnings per share for the current year.

ArcBest Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 11th were given a dividend of $0.12 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 11th. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.64%. ArcBest’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 6.55%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ARCB. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in ArcBest by 146.3% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 298 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 177 shares during the period. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in ArcBest during the fourth quarter valued at about $40,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of ArcBest by 471.9% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 549 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 453 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC grew its position in ArcBest by 60.6% during 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. Finally, Avior Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in ArcBest by 17.9% during the 3rd quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 625 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $68,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. 99.27% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.