Forward Air Corporation (NASDAQ:FWRD) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of Forward Air Corporation (NASDAQ:FWRD) have received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the five ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation and three have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $17.50.

Several brokerages recently weighed in on FWRD. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Forward Air in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Susquehanna dropped their price target on shares of Forward Air from $42.00 to $18.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $17.00 price target on Forward Air in a report on Friday, May 8th.

Forward Air Price Performance

Shares of FWRD opened at $13.71 on Thursday. Forward Air has a 12 month low of $7.86 and a 12 month high of $32.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.98, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 1.23. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $14.36 and a 200 day moving average price of $20.72. The company has a market cap of $433.51 million, a P/E ratio of -4.68 and a beta of 1.42.

Forward Air (NASDAQ:FWRD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The transportation company reported ($1.09) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.35) by ($0.74). The firm had revenue of $582.05 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $620.23 million. Forward Air had a negative net margin of 3.71% and a negative return on equity of 41.21%. The business’s revenue was down 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted ($1.68) EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Forward Air will post -1.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Forward Air

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FWRD. Garton & Associates Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Forward Air in the fourth quarter worth $36,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its stake in shares of Forward Air by 207.0% during the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,600 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $64,000 after purchasing an additional 1,753 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in Forward Air in the fourth quarter worth about $74,000. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its holdings in Forward Air by 2,397.7% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 5,495 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $92,000 after purchasing an additional 5,275 shares during the period. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Forward Air in the 2nd quarter valued at about $107,000. Institutional investors own 97.03% of the company’s stock.

Forward Air Company Profile

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.