Encompass Capital Advisors LLC Acquires Shares of 275,000 ArcBest Corporation $ARCB

Encompass Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of ArcBest Corporation (NASDAQ:ARCB) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 275,000 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,402,000. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC owned 1.22% of ArcBest as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. ClearAlpha Technologies LP bought a new stake in ArcBest during the 4th quarter valued at $810,000. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in ArcBest by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 88,751 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $6,584,000 after acquiring an additional 3,387 shares during the last quarter. Freestone Grove Partners LP purchased a new position in shares of ArcBest in the fourth quarter valued at about $576,000. Guggenheim Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of ArcBest in the fourth quarter valued at about $614,000. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers bought a new position in shares of ArcBest during the fourth quarter valued at about $250,000. Institutional investors own 99.27% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ARCB has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Bank of America raised their target price on ArcBest from $138.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, June 5th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $150.00 price objective on shares of ArcBest in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on ArcBest from $98.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on ArcBest from $130.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, June 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on ArcBest from $117.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, June 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $141.42.

ArcBest Stock Performance

Shares of ARCB opened at $145.85 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.93. ArcBest Corporation has a one year low of $59.43 and a one year high of $176.69. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $129.67 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $103.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.25 billion, a PE ratio of 60.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 1.55.

ArcBest (NASDAQ:ARCB) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The transportation company reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.27 by $0.05. ArcBest had a return on equity of 6.15% and a net margin of 1.38%.The firm had revenue of $998.79 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $999.07 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.51 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that ArcBest Corporation will post 5.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ArcBest Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 8th were given a $0.12 dividend. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 8th. ArcBest’s payout ratio is currently 19.75%.

ArcBest Company Profile

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.