ArcBest boosts dividend, bumps freight rates up 5.4%
by October 24, 2014 3:55 pm 101 views
The Board of Directors of Fort Smith-based ArcBest Corp. has approved a quarterly dividend of six cents per share, an increase over the previous three-cent dividend.
The dividend is payable Nov. 21 to shareholders of record on Nov. 7.
ArcBest is scheduled to report third quarter earnings on Nov. 3. The consensus of analyst’s estimates is 77 cents per share on revenue of $699.25 million. The company posted 2013 third quarter income of 52 cents per share.
The transportation holding company reported July 31 second quarter net income of $17.208 million on revenue of $658.646 million. Excluding a one-time pension charge, the net income was $17.764 million, or 65 cents per share. The per share earnings missed the consensus estimate of 72 cents, but revenue beat the estimate of $642.6 million. Total revenue for the first half of 2014 totaled $1.236 billion, better than the $1.097 billion during the same period of 2013.
ABF Freight, one of the nation’s largest less-than-truckload carriers, is the largest subsidiary of ArcBest. Officials with ABF Freight announced Friday a general rate increase of 5.4%, with rate variations expected among routes and customers.
Company shares (NASDAQ: ARCB) closed Friday (Oct. 24) at $35.75, up 11 cents. During the past 52 weeks the share price has ranged from a $45.68 high to a $25.45 low.