Robert W. Baird Lowers Forward Air (NASDAQ:FWRD) Price Target to $14.00

Forward Air (NASDAQ:FWRD) had its price objective dropped by research analysts at Robert W. Baird from $24.00 to $14.00 in a report released on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “neutral” rating on the transportation company’s stock. Robert W. Baird’s target price would suggest a potential downside of 16.47% from the company’s previous close.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Forward Air from $80.00 to $55.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 22nd. Benchmark restated a “hold” rating on shares of Forward Air in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Forward Air from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, March 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $76.43.

Forward Air Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FWRD opened at $16.76 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $26.51 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $46.71. Forward Air has a twelve month low of $12.85 and a twelve month high of $121.38. The company has a quick ratio of 1.46, a current ratio of 1.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $441.96 million, a PE ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.06.

Forward Air (NASDAQ:FWRD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 29th. The transportation company reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.97 by ($0.16). Forward Air had a return on equity of 15.30% and a net margin of 10.58%. The business had revenue of $338.43 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $406.96 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.65 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Forward Air will post 0.56 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Forward Air

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Private Management Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Forward Air during the 1st quarter valued at about $31,007,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in shares of Forward Air by 15,487.6% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 726,538 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $49,942,000 after acquiring an additional 721,877 shares in the last quarter. Ridgemont Partners Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Forward Air in the 1st quarter worth approximately $21,796,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Forward Air in the 4th quarter valued at $43,281,000. Finally, UBS Group AG grew its holdings in shares of Forward Air by 809.8% during the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 683,566 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $46,988,000 after purchasing an additional 608,430 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, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an asset-light freight and logistics company in the United States and Canada. It operates in two segments, Expedited Freight and Intermodal. The Expedited Freight segment provides expedited regional, inter-regional, and national less-than-truckload services; local pick-up and delivery services; and other services, which include shipment consolidation and deconsolidation, warehousing, customs brokerage, and other handling.