ArcBest Corporation $ARCB Stock Position Cut by Renaissance Technologies LLC

Renaissance Technologies LLC reduced its position in shares of ArcBest Corporation (NASDAQ:ARCB) by 93.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,535 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 35,700 shares during the quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC’s holdings in ArcBest were worth $249,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of ARCB. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of ArcBest by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,451,162 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $181,852,000 after purchasing an additional 6,808 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of ArcBest by 3.5% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,397,287 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $137,429,000 after buying an additional 47,848 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its position 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 buying an additional 793,607 shares during the period. Turtle Creek Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in ArcBest during the third quarter valued at $39,508,000. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its stake in ArcBest by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 520,886 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $36,394,000 after acquiring an additional 24,102 shares in the last quarter. 99.27% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at ArcBest

In other news, Director Judy R. Mcreynolds sold 2,857 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.98, for a total value of $397,065.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 50,048 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,955,671.04. This represents a 5.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Erin K. Gattis sold 6,163 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.00, for a total transaction of $862,820.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 24,286 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,400,040. The trade was a 20.24% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 11,963 shares of company stock worth $1,678,066. Corporate insiders own 0.98% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ARCB has been the topic of a number of research reports. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of ArcBest from $145.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Wall Street Zen upgraded ArcBest from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on ArcBest from $150.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Stephens raised ArcBest to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $172.00 price target on shares of ArcBest in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $154.23.

ArcBest Stock Performance

ARCB opened at $137.74 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $3.08 billion, a PE ratio of 199.62, a P/E/G ratio of 0.45 and a beta of 1.57. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. ArcBest Corporation has a 1 year low of $59.43 and a 1 year high of $176.69. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $147.59 and its 200-day simple moving average is $124.51.

ArcBest (NASDAQ:ARCB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The transportation company reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.26 by $0.12. ArcBest had a net margin of 0.39% and a return on equity of 7.92%. The company had revenue of $1.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.17 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.36 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 15.9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that ArcBest Corporation will post 6.9 EPS for the current year.

ArcBest Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 7th. ArcBest’s payout ratio is presently 69.57%.

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.