Forward Air (NASDAQ:FWRD) Rating Increased to Hold at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Forward Air (NASDAQ:FWRD) from a strong sell rating to a hold rating in a report published on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

FWRD has been the subject of several other reports. Susquehanna decreased their target price on shares of Forward Air from $42.00 to $18.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 8th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Forward Air in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $17.00 price objective on shares of Forward Air in a report on Friday, May 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $17.50.

Forward Air Trading Down 7.0%

Forward Air stock opened at $12.18 on Tuesday. Forward Air has a 12 month low of $7.86 and a 12 month high of $32.47. The company has a market capitalization of $385.13 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.16 and a beta of 1.36. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $12.47 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $19.70. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.98.

Forward Air (NASDAQ:FWRD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The transportation company reported ($1.09) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.35) by ($0.74). The company had revenue of $582.05 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $620.23 million. Forward Air had a negative net margin of 3.71% and a negative return on equity of 41.21%. Forward Air’s revenue was down 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($1.68) earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Forward Air will post -1.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Forward Air

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its position in Forward Air by 1,179.7% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 321,092 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $6,451,000 after purchasing an additional 296,001 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in Forward Air by 7.0% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 10,009 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $201,000 after buying an additional 654 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its holdings in Forward Air by 4.4% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 14,875 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $299,000 after buying an additional 624 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC raised its position in Forward Air by 64.2% in the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 73,040 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,467,000 after acquiring an additional 28,564 shares during the period. Finally, Prudential Financial Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Forward Air by 6.6% during the 2nd quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 21,431 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $526,000 after acquiring an additional 1,323 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.03% of the company’s stock.

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.