ArcBest Co. (NASDAQ:ARCB) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.12

ArcBest Co. (NASDAQ:ARCB) announced a quarterly dividend on Friday, April 26th, Zacks reports. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be given a dividend of 0.12 per share by the transportation company on Friday, May 24th. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 9th.

ArcBest has increased its dividend payment by an average of 14.5% per year over the last three years. ArcBest has a dividend payout ratio of 3.8% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect ArcBest to earn $11.31 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.48 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 4.2%.

ArcBest Trading Up 1.3 %

ARCB traded up $1.57 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $119.56. 32,038 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 315,984. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $137.12 and its 200 day moving average is $126.16. ArcBest has a 12 month low of $82.18 and a 12 month high of $153.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.81 billion, a PE ratio of 23.74, a P/E/G ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 1.56.

ArcBest (NASDAQ:ARCB) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The transportation company reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.53 by ($0.19). The business had revenue of $1.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.03 billion. ArcBest had a net margin of 2.80% and a return on equity of 15.27%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.58 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that ArcBest will post 9 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at ArcBest

In other ArcBest news, insider Erin K. Gattis sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.58, for a total value of $283,160.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 32,247 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,565,530.26. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 1.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on ARCB shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of ArcBest from $164.00 to $145.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of ArcBest from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. StockNews.com lowered ArcBest from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Stephens increased their price target on ArcBest from $165.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on ArcBest in a research report on Monday, January 29th. They set a “buy” rating and a $148.00 target price on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, ArcBest currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $143.38.

ArcBest Company Profile

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.