Principal Financial Group Inc. Cuts Holdings in ArcBest Co. (NASDAQ:ARCB)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its position in shares of ArcBest Co. (NASDAQ:ARCB - Free Report) by 17.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 112,020 shares of the transportation company's stock after selling 23,040 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.48% of ArcBest worth $12,149,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sanctuary Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of ArcBest by 5.4% in the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 4,123 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $453,000 after buying an additional 213 shares during the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new stake in ArcBest during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $485,000. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in ArcBest by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 551,821 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $59,856,000 after acquiring an additional 3,475 shares during the period. Impala Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of ArcBest by 51.1% in the 3rd quarter. Impala Asset Management LLC now owns 34,000 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $3,687,000 after purchasing an additional 11,500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its holdings in shares of ArcBest by 342.5% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 43,134 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $4,678,000 after purchasing an additional 33,386 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.27% of the company's stock.

ArcBest Price Performance

ArcBest stock traded down $0.52 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $93.08. The stock had a trading volume of 286,603 shares, compared to its average volume of 284,928. ArcBest Co. has a 1-year low of $91.01 and a 1-year high of $153.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.49, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.49. The stock's fifty day moving average is $106.65 and its two-hundred day moving average is $107.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04.

ArcBest (NASDAQ:ARCB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 1st. The transportation company reported $1.64 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.84 by ($0.20). The business had revenue of $1.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.07 billion. ArcBest had a net margin of 4.54% and a return on equity of 14.27%. ArcBest's revenue was down 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.31 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that ArcBest Co. will post 6.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ArcBest Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 13th were paid a $0.12 dividend. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 13th. ArcBest's payout ratio is currently 5.93%.

Insider Buying and Selling at ArcBest

In related news, SVP Michael E. Newcity sold 10,443 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.60, for a total transaction of $1,259,425.80. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 5,051 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $609,150.60. This represents a 67.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Craig E. Philip sold 3,900 shares of ArcBest stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $109.91, for a total transaction of $428,649.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 23,250 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,555,407.50. The trade was a 14.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.65% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com raised ArcBest from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of ArcBest from $110.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. TD Cowen downgraded shares of ArcBest from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $131.00 to $114.00 in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Stephens reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $130.00 target price on shares of ArcBest in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on ArcBest from $131.00 to $119.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, ArcBest presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $124.50.

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.