Forward Air (NASDAQ:FWRD) Upgraded to “Sell” at StockNews.com

Forward Air (NASDAQ:FWRD) was upgraded by analysts at StockNews.com to a “sell” rating in a note issued to investors on Wednesday.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on the company. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Forward Air from $17.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Benchmark reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Forward Air in a report on Monday, August 12th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Forward Air from $31.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $47.00 target price on Forward Air and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $39.25.

Forward Air Stock Up 3.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ:FWRD traded up $1.42 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $37.92. The stock had a trading volume of 1,491,924 shares, compared to its average volume of 676,410. Forward Air has a 12 month low of $11.21 and a 12 month high of $68.09. The company has a quick ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.70. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $35.59 and its 200-day simple moving average is $26.51. The company has a market cap of $1.05 billion, a P/E ratio of -1.82 and a beta of 1.02.

Forward Air (NASDAQ:FWRD) last announced its 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 business had revenue of $643.67 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $642.92 million. Forward Air had a negative net margin of 30.77% and a negative return on equity of 79.11%. The company’s revenue was up 92.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.91 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Forward Air will post -1.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Forward Air

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in FWRD. Clearlake Capital Group L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Forward Air by 255.2% during the second quarter. Clearlake Capital Group L.P. now owns 3,825,000 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $72,828,000 after purchasing an additional 2,747,994 shares in the last quarter. Ridgemont Partners Management LLC grew its position in shares of Forward Air by 172.7% during the second quarter. Ridgemont Partners Management LLC now owns 1,910,615 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $36,378,000 after purchasing an additional 1,210,006 shares in the last quarter. Private Management Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Forward Air during the first quarter worth about $31,007,000. MFN Partners Management LP purchased a new position in Forward Air during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $17,208,000. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. grew its holdings in Forward Air by 712.5% during the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 680,929 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $12,965,000 after buying an additional 597,120 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.03% of the company’s stock.

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.