Arkansas Best Corporation (ABFS)

[BuckeyeMike]

June 3rd, 2013 Press Release

S&P REITERATES BUY RECOMMENDATION ON SHARES OF ARKANSAS BEST
(S&P Capital IQ)
Taking into consideration the proposed labor contract, as well as ABFS's likely alternate courses of action (significant network restructuring or revisiting an unsolicited acquisition proposal), we are raising our P/E-based target price by $4 to $22. The consensus EPS estimate for '13 is $0.04, down from our last published $0.43 estimate, and '14's is $0.88, off a penny, according to Capital IQ. However, we think contract ratification would add $0.21 on average to quarterly EPS, before even taking work rule changes and efficiency gains into account. Votes are due by late June.