Forward Air Co. (NASDAQ:FWRD) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of Forward Air Co. (NASDAQ:FWRD) have received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the six research firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $46.40.

A number of analysts recently commented on FWRD shares. Benchmark reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Forward Air in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Forward Air from $31.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Jefferies Financial Group set a $47.00 target price on shares of Forward Air and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Forward Air from $17.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th.

Forward Air Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ FWRD opened at $37.28 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $35.14 and its two-hundred day moving average is $26.02. The company has a market capitalization of $1.03 billion, a PE ratio of -1.79 and a beta of 1.02. Forward Air has a 12-month low of $11.21 and a 12-month high of $68.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.70, a current ratio of 1.33 and a quick ratio of 1.33.

Forward Air (NASDAQ:FWRD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The transportation company reported ($23.29) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.18) by ($23.11). Forward Air had a negative return on equity of 79.11% and a negative net margin of 30.77%. The company had revenue of $643.67 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $642.92 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.91 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 92.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Forward Air will post -1.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Forward Air

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Gladius Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in shares of Forward Air by 33.5% in the 2nd quarter. Gladius Capital Management LP now owns 1,964 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 493 shares during the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System raised its position in shares of Forward Air by 3.9% in the 2nd quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 15,900 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $303,000 after buying an additional 600 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Forward Air by 62.2% in the third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,990 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $70,000 after acquiring an additional 763 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC boosted its holdings in Forward Air by 98.5% in the first quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 1,634 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 811 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC grew its position in Forward Air by 36.2% during the first quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 3,220 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $100,000 after acquiring an additional 856 shares during the period. 97.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.