Forward Air Corporation (NASDAQ:FWRD) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

Shares of Forward Air Corporation (NASDAQ:FWRD) have been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the five ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $17.50.

A number of research firms have issued reports on FWRD. Stifel Nicolaus set a $17.00 price objective on Forward Air in a research note 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 note on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Forward Air in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st.

Forward Air Stock Performance

NASDAQ:FWRD opened at $13.39 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.98, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 1.23. Forward Air has a 1 year low of $7.86 and a 1 year high of $32.47. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $14.12 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $20.55. The company has a market cap of $423.39 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.57 and a beta of 1.41.

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

Institutional Trading of Forward Air

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Melqart Asset Management UK Ltd increased its position in shares of Forward Air by 122.3% during 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 purchasing an additional 467,482 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Forward Air by 15.1% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,353,608 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $60,347,000 after purchasing an additional 307,906 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada increased its position in shares of Forward Air by 1,179.7% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 321,092 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $6,451,000 after purchasing an additional 296,001 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG increased its position in shares of Forward Air by 780.4% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 281,800 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $7,045,000 after purchasing an additional 249,791 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC bought a new position in shares of Forward Air during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $3,535,000. 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.