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

Forward Air Corporation (NASDAQ:FWRD) has received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the five brokerages that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation and three have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $17.50.

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

Forward Air Stock Down 1.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:FWRD opened at $13.56 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.98. Forward Air has a 52-week low of $7.86 and a 52-week high of $32.47. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $14.64 and its 200-day simple moving average is $20.94. The company has a market capitalization of $428.77 million, a P/E ratio of -4.63 and a beta of 1.41.

Forward Air (NASDAQ:FWRD) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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). Forward Air had a negative net margin of 3.71% and a negative return on equity of 41.21%. The company had revenue of $582.05 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $620.23 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($1.68) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Forward Air will post -1.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Forward Air

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Garton & Associates Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Forward Air in the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its stake in Forward Air by 207.0% in 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 during the last quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in Forward Air in the fourth quarter valued at $74,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Forward Air in the second quarter valued at $107,000. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp increased its stake 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 valued at $92,000 after purchasing an additional 5,275 shares during the last quarter. 97.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.