Forward Air (NASDAQ:FWRD) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results, Misses Estimates By $0.39 EPS

Forward Air (NASDAQ:FWRD) released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The transportation company reported ($0.52) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.13) by ($0.39), Zacks reports. Forward Air had a negative net margin of 6.86% and a negative return on equity of 40.36%. The business had revenue of $631.76 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $645.45 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($2.62) EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.7% on a year-over-year basis.

Forward Air Trading Up 22.1%

Shares of FWRD stock traded up $3.92 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $21.61. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 569,376 shares, compared to its average volume of 684,645. Forward Air has a 12-month low of $9.78 and a 12-month high of $38.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $665.26 million, a PE ratio of -3.61 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a quick ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.91. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $24.55 and its 200-day simple moving average is $23.69.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on FWRD. Susquehanna increased their target price on Forward Air from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. Wall Street Zen lowered Forward Air from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, October 11th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Forward Air in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Zacks Research downgraded Forward Air from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on Forward Air from $32.00 to $30.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $33.67.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its position in shares of Forward Air by 5.2% during the 2nd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 15,436 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $379,000 after buying an additional 762 shares in the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its holdings in shares of Forward Air by 12.9% during the second quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 71,519 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,755,000 after acquiring an additional 8,176 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Forward Air during the second quarter valued at approximately $182,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 1,753 shares during the period. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Forward Air during the second quarter valued at approximately $580,000. 97.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Forward Air Company Profile

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.