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

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

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

Forward Air Stock Performance

Shares of FWRD opened at $36.89 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.02 billion, a PE ratio of -1.77 and a beta of 1.02. Forward Air has a 52-week low of $11.21 and a 52-week high of $77.55. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $34.89 and a 200-day simple moving average of $25.92. The company has a quick ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.70.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Forward Air

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in Forward Air in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $39,000. Point72 DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Forward Air during the second quarter worth $26,000. Headlands Technologies LLC grew its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 811 shares during the period. Gladius Capital Management LP lifted its position in Forward Air by 33.5% during the second quarter. Gladius Capital Management LP now owns 1,964 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 493 shares during the period. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Forward Air by 62.2% in the 3rd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,990 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $70,000 after buying an additional 763 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.