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

Shares of Forward Air Co. (NASDAQ:FWRD) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the five ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $51.00.

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on FWRD shares. Benchmark reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Forward Air in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Forward Air from $17.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Forward Air

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of FWRD. Gladius Capital Management LP grew its holdings 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 valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 493 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System lifted its position in shares of Forward Air by 3.9% during the 2nd quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 15,900 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $303,000 after buying an additional 600 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in shares of Forward Air by 413.5% during the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 837 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 674 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC increased its holdings in Forward Air by 98.5% in the 1st quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 1,634 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 811 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC raised its stake in Forward Air by 36.2% during the 1st quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 3,220 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $100,000 after acquiring an additional 856 shares during the period. 97.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Forward Air Price Performance

NASDAQ FWRD opened at $37.65 on Tuesday. Forward Air has a one year low of $11.21 and a one year high of $79.51. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $31.36 and a 200 day moving average of $25.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.70, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a current ratio of 1.33. The company has a market capitalization of $995.39 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.01 and a beta of 1.02.

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

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.