Forward Air (NASDAQ:FWRD) Raised to “Hold” at Zacks Research

Forward Air (NASDAQ:FWRD) was upgraded by stock analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on FWRD. Stifel Nicolaus set a $17.00 target price on shares of Forward Air in a report on Friday, May 8th. Susquehanna dropped 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 restated a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Forward Air in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Forward Air has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $17.50.

Forward Air Stock Down 7.0%

Shares of FWRD opened at $12.18 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $12.47 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $19.70. Forward Air has a 12 month low of $7.86 and a 12 month high of $32.47. The company has a market capitalization of $385.13 million, a PE ratio of -4.16 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.98.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.35) by ($0.74). The company had revenue of $582.05 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $620.23 million. Forward Air had a negative return on equity of 41.21% and a negative net margin of 3.71%.Forward Air’s revenue was down 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned ($1.68) earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Forward Air will post -1.08 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Forward Air

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Garton & Associates Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in Forward Air in the fourth quarter worth approximately $36,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its holdings in shares of Forward Air by 207.0% in the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,600 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $64,000 after purchasing an additional 1,753 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in Forward Air in the 4th quarter valued at $74,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Forward Air in the 2nd quarter valued at $107,000. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp increased its stake in Forward Air by 2,397.7% during the 1st 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 in the last quarter. 97.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Forward Air Company Profile

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.