Brean Capital has initiated coverage on ArcBest Corp (NASDAQ: ARCB), assigning a Buy rating and establishing a price target of $97.50. At the time of the initiation the share price was trading at $106.73, above Brean’s stated target.
According to InvestingPro data cited by the firm, the shares sit near their assessed Fair Value while momentum indicators point to overbought territory, with the relative strength index signaling elevated near-term buying pressure.
The coverage follows Brean Capital’s January 30th acquisition of Janney Montgomery Scott’s Banking and Insurance capital markets teams. In its initiation report, Brean underscored ArcBest’s standing among mid-cap banks and singled out several profitability measures.
Brean noted that ArcBest’s return on assets (ROA) is above 1.50%, outpacing the S&P Regional Bank benchmark median consensus of 1.25% for 2026. The firm also highlighted pre-provision net revenue (PPNR) ROA - defined as operating cash flow-to-average assets - which Brean says exceeds 2.10%, roughly 50 basis points higher than peer averages. That operating cash generation is accompanied by a cash return on invested capital of 7% on a last-twelve-months basis.
Brean argued those profitability advantages could justify a re-rating: the firm suggested ArcBest may warrant a premium on price-to-earnings multiples for 2026 and 2027 and a stronger deposit-based valuation. Brean also noted the potential for historic valuation norms to be reset given the combination of high profitability and compound growth in earnings per share and retained capital.
Market performance to date supports a degree of momentum: ArcBest has returned 53.55% over the past six months. Brean’s initiation, however, also flagged a relatively weak gross profit margin of 7.79% even as price performance has been robust.
Recent quarterly results and analyst responses provide a mixed backdrop. ArcBest reported fourth-quarter 2025 adjusted earnings per share of $0.36, missing an expectation of $0.42, while revenue of $973 million modestly surpassed the anticipated $968.1 million.
Analysts have reacted differently to the earnings print. Jefferies raised its price target for the company to $110, citing stronger-than-anticipated margins and improved Asset-Based operating ratio performance. Stifel trimmed its price target to $94 but maintained a Buy rating following the EPS miss. Wells Fargo raised its price target to $85, pointing to improved Asset-Based volume and margin trends, and also revised its first-quarter 2026 earnings estimate to $0.16 per share from a prior forecast of negative $0.09.
These analyst moves reflect divergent interpretations of ArcBest’s recent results and forward trajectory, with some firms placing more weight on margin improvement and operating-ratio performance and others reacting to the earnings shortfall.
Investors assessing ArcBest will be weighing the firm-level metrics Brean highlighted - ROA, PPNR ROA and cash ROIC - against the present share price that sits above Brean’s target and short-term technicals that signal overbought conditions. The balance of analyst target adjustments following the company’s fourth-quarter report underscores the differing views on how operating trends will translate into future earnings and valuation.