Forward Air (NASDAQ:FWRD) Stock Rating Upgraded by Wall Street Zen

Forward Air (NASDAQ:FWRD) was upgraded by Wall Street Zen from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Saturday.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Forward Air from a “sell (e+)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a research report on Thursday. Zacks Research raised Forward Air from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Forward Air from $19.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Susquehanna cut their target price on Forward Air from $42.00 to $18.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Forward Air currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $22.50.

Forward Air Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FWRD opened at $19.35 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.98. Forward Air has a 12-month low of $7.86 and a 12-month high of $32.00. The business has a 50 day moving average of $13.60 and a two-hundred day moving average of $17.90. The company has a market capitalization of $611.85 million, a PE ratio of -2.17 and a beta of 1.36.

Forward Air (NASDAQ:FWRD) last posted its 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). Forward Air had a negative net margin of 11.37% and a negative return on equity of 19.49%. The firm had revenue of $582.05 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $620.23 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($1.68) earnings per share. Forward Air’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Forward Air will post -2.02 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Forward Air during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $37,485,000. Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new position in shares of Forward Air in the 2nd quarter valued at $8,293,000. Melqart Asset Management UK Ltd grew its position in shares of Forward Air by 122.3% in the 4th quarter. Melqart Asset Management UK Ltd now owns 849,876 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $21,247,000 after buying an additional 467,482 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada grew its position in shares of Forward Air by 1,179.7% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 321,092 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $6,451,000 after buying an additional 296,001 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in Forward Air during the 1st quarter worth $3,535,000. 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.