Forward Air Corporation (NASDAQ:FWRD) Receives Consensus Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of Forward Air Corporation (NASDAQ:FWRD) have received an average rating of “Hold” from the six brokerages that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $35.00.

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on FWRD shares. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Forward Air in a research note on Thursday. Susquehanna boosted their price target on shares of Forward Air from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Forward Air in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Forward Air from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Forward Air from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday.

Institutional Trading of Forward Air

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FWRD. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Forward Air by 15.1% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,353,608 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $60,347,000 after purchasing an additional 307,906 shares during the period. Ridgemont Partners Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Forward Air by 0.7% in the third quarter. Ridgemont Partners Management LLC now owns 1,937,405 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $49,675,000 after buying an additional 13,926 shares in the last quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Forward Air by 8.5% in the third quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 1,475,055 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $37,820,000 after buying an additional 116,012 shares in the last quarter. Private Management Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Forward Air by 8.7% in the second quarter. Private Management Group Inc. now owns 1,046,226 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $25,674,000 after acquiring an additional 83,600 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in Forward Air by 47.3% during the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 786,883 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $19,310,000 after acquiring an additional 252,509 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.03% of the company’s stock.

Forward Air Price Performance

Forward Air stock opened at $27.79 on Monday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $25.20 and its 200 day simple moving average is $25.79. Forward Air has a 12 month low of $9.78 and a 12 month high of $35.47. The company has a market cap of $868.44 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.22 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.73.

Forward Air (NASDAQ:FWRD) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The transportation company reported ($0.52) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.13) by ($0.39). Forward Air had a negative net margin of 4.64% and a negative return on equity of 33.13%. The firm had revenue of $631.76 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $645.45 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($2.62) earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Forward Air will post -0.72 EPS for the current year.

About Forward Air

Forward Air Corporation is a leading North American provider of expedited ground transportation and related logistics services, specializing in time-sensitive shipments. The company offers a comprehensive suite of solutions including less-than-truckload (LTL) expedited freight, consolidation and distribution services, container drayage, and final-mile delivery. By integrating transportation management with warehousing, inventory control, and technology-driven tracking, Forward Air supports customers across a variety of industries such as manufacturing, retail, automotive and chemicals.

Founded in 1981 and headquartered in Greeneville, Tennessee, Forward Air has developed a broad network of service centers, terminals and rail ramps throughout the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico.