Partners Group Holding AG Lowers Stake in ArcBest Co. (NASDAQ:ARCB)

Partners Group Holding AG decreased its position in ArcBest Co. (NASDAQ:ARCB) by 10.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 78,713 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 9,129 shares during the quarter. Partners Group Holding AG owned 0.34% of ArcBest worth $7,345,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ARCB. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in shares of ArcBest by 16.3% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 618,919 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $57,758,000 after buying an additional 86,867 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in ArcBest by 24.6% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 221,507 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $24,022,000 after purchasing an additional 43,707 shares during the period. Barclays PLC increased its stake in ArcBest by 342.5% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 43,134 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $4,678,000 after purchasing an additional 33,386 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of ArcBest by 5.6% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 414,261 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $44,927,000 after purchasing an additional 21,905 shares during the period. Finally, Citigroup Inc. grew its holdings in shares of ArcBest by 91.1% in the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 45,313 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $4,914,000 after purchasing an additional 21,606 shares in the last quarter. 99.27% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at ArcBest

In related news, CFO John Matthew Beasley bought 700 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $74.89 per share, for a total transaction 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.65% of the company’s stock.

ArcBest Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ARCB opened at $71.66 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.54. ArcBest Co. has a 12 month low of $68.83 and a 12 month high of $153.61. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $87.81 and its 200 day moving average price is $98.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.04.

ArcBest (NASDAQ:ARCB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The transportation company reported $1.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.11 by $0.22. ArcBest had a net margin of 4.16% and a return on equity of 11.79%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.47 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that ArcBest Co. will post 7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ArcBest Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 11th were paid a $0.12 dividend. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 11th. ArcBest’s payout ratio is currently 6.55%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on ARCB shares. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of ArcBest from $103.00 to $83.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. UBS Group decreased their target price on ArcBest from $110.00 to $100.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Bank of America lowered their target price on ArcBest from $100.00 to $73.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $116.00 price objective on shares of ArcBest in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on ArcBest from $109.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $108.33.

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.