Franklin Resources Inc. Has $691,000 Position in ArcBest Co. (NASDAQ:ARCB)

Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of ArcBest Co. (NASDAQ:ARCB) by 4.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,406 shares of the transportation company’s stock after purchasing an additional 305 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in ArcBest were worth $691,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Arizona State Retirement System raised its position in ArcBest by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 6,856 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $640,000 after buying an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. Stephens Inc. AR raised its holdings in shares of ArcBest by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 8,128 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $758,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted 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 purchasing an additional 177 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC grew its position in ArcBest by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 4,123 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $453,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV lifted its position in shares of ArcBest by 34.9% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,148 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $107,000 after buying an additional 297 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.27% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on ARCB shares. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $116.00 price target on shares of ArcBest in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Truist Financial started coverage on shares of ArcBest in a report on Thursday, March 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $93.00 price target on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on ArcBest from $108.00 to $97.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Citigroup dropped their price target on ArcBest from $83.00 to $66.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on ArcBest from $96.00 to $80.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, ArcBest currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $101.75.

Insider Transactions at ArcBest

In related news, CFO John Matthew Beasley purchased 700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $74.89 per share, with a total value of $52,423.00. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer now directly owns 8,142 shares in the company, valued at $609,754.38. The trade was a 9.41 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.28% of the company’s stock.

ArcBest Trading Down 3.3 %

Shares of ARCB opened at $58.61 on Thursday. ArcBest Co. has a 1-year low of $57.38 and a 1-year high of $146.97. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $75.57 and its 200-day moving average price is $93.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.00, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.62.

ArcBest (NASDAQ:ARCB) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The transportation company reported $1.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.47 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that ArcBest Co. will post 7 EPS for the current year.

ArcBest Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 11th were issued a $0.12 dividend. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.82%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 11th. ArcBest’s payout ratio is 6.55%.

ArcBest Company Profile

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.