Norges Bank Acquires New Shares in ArcBest Co. (NASDAQ:ARCB)

Norges Bank purchased a new position in ArcBest Co. (NASDAQ:ARCB - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 62,428 shares of the transportation company's stock, valued at approximately $5,826,000. Norges Bank owned 0.27% of ArcBest at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of ARCB. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of ArcBest by 47.2% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 326,006 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $30,423,000 after purchasing an additional 104,499 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in ArcBest by 16.3% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 618,919 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $57,758,000 after buying an additional 86,867 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in ArcBest by 342.5% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 43,134 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $4,678,000 after acquiring an additional 33,386 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of ArcBest by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,771,123 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $258,601,000 after acquiring an additional 20,665 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of ArcBest by 1.9% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 957,410 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $103,831,000 after acquiring an additional 17,542 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.27% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ARCB has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of ArcBest from $100.00 to $73.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on shares of ArcBest from $108.00 to $97.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Stephens reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $116.00 target price on shares of ArcBest in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on ArcBest from $96.00 to $80.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on ArcBest from $120.00 to $95.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $101.75.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO John Matthew Beasley bought 700 shares of ArcBest stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $74.89 per share, with a total value of $52,423.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 8,142 shares in the company, valued at $609,754.38. The trade was a 9.41 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 1.28% of the company's stock.

ArcBest Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ARCB traded down $0.67 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $61.80. 20,955 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 298,017. The company's 50 day moving average is $76.89 and its 200 day moving average is $94.03. ArcBest Co. has a one year low of $57.80 and a one year high of $151.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.43 billion, a PE ratio of 8.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.62.

ArcBest (NASDAQ:ARCB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 11.79% and a net margin of 4.16%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.47 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that ArcBest Co. will post 7 earnings per share for the current year.

ArcBest Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 11th were given a $0.12 dividend. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.78%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 11th. ArcBest's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 6.55%.

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.