Short Interest in ArcBest Corporation (NASDAQ:ARCB) Expands By 20.8%

ArcBest Corporation (NASDAQ:ARCB) was the target of a large increase in short interest during the month of February. As of February 13th, there was short interest totaling 1,345,765 shares, an increase of 20.8% from the January 29th total of 1,114,069 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 468,349 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.9 days. Currently, 6.1% of the shares of the company are short sold. Currently, 6.1% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 468,349 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.9 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ARCB has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of ArcBest from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of ArcBest from $104.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of ArcBest in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of ArcBest from $96.00 to $94.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $100.00 target price on shares of ArcBest in a report on Saturday, January 31st. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $97.00.

ArcBest Trading Down 5.0%

Shares of NASDAQ:ARCB opened at $99.71 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $94.29 and a 200 day moving average of $79.24. The company has a market cap of $2.22 billion, a PE ratio of 38.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.48. ArcBest has a 12-month low of $55.19 and a 12-month high of $112.92. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10.

ArcBest (NASDAQ:ARCB) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The transportation company reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by ($0.09). ArcBest had a return on equity of 6.51% and a net margin of 1.50%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.33 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that ArcBest will post 7 EPS for the current year.

ArcBest Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 24th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 10th were paid a dividend of $0.12 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 10th. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. ArcBest’s payout ratio is 18.39%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ArcBest

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ARCB. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of ArcBest by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,451,162 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $181,852,000 after acquiring an additional 6,808 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in ArcBest by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,349,439 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $100,117,000 after purchasing an additional 7,816 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in 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. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in ArcBest by 9.6% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 817,091 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $57,090,000 after purchasing an additional 71,420 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of ArcBest by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 565,739 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $43,573,000 after buying an additional 4,048 shares in the last quarter. 99.27% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.