Amundi Cuts Stake in ArcBest Co. (NASDAQ:ARCB)

Amundi lowered its holdings in shares of ArcBest Co. (NASDAQ:ARCB) by 1.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 127,622 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 1,663 shares during the quarter. Amundi owned approximately 0.55% of ArcBest worth $12,074,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of ArcBest during the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. Quest Partners LLC grew its position in shares of ArcBest by 60.6% during the third quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 546 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 206 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in ArcBest by 471.9% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 549 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 453 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Avior Wealth Management LLC grew 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 in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.27% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO John Matthew Beasley purchased 700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $74.89 per share, with a total value of $52,423.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief financial officer now owns 8,142 shares in the company, valued at $609,754.38. This trade represents a 9.41 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 1.65% of the company’s stock.

ArcBest Stock Performance

NASDAQ ARCB opened at $73.35 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.01, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.54. ArcBest Co. has a twelve month low of $70.96 and a twelve month high of $153.61. 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 stock has a 50-day moving average of $90.03 and a 200 day moving average of $100.02.

ArcBest (NASDAQ:ARCB) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The transportation company reported $1.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 earned $2.47 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that ArcBest Co. will post 7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ArcBest Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 11th were given a $0.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 11th. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.65%. ArcBest’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 6.55%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on ARCB shares. Bank of America cut their price target on ArcBest from $100.00 to $73.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on ArcBest from $126.00 to $108.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday. UBS Group cut their price target on ArcBest from $110.00 to $100.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on ArcBest from $109.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on ArcBest from $105.00 to $96.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $108.33.

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.