Forward Air (NASDAQ:FWRD) Trading Down 9.1%

Forward Air Co. (NASDAQ:FWRD)’s share price dropped 9.1% on Thursday . The company traded as low as $22.94 and last traded at $23.05. Approximately 185,349 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 83% from the average daily volume of 1,081,498 shares. The stock had previously closed at $25.36.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FWRD has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Benchmark reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Forward Air in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Forward Air from $14.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Forward Air from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $76.86.

Forward Air Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $580.89 million, a PE ratio of 6.42 and a beta of 1.00. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $20.98 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $27.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a current ratio of 1.28.

Forward Air (NASDAQ:FWRD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 8th. The transportation company reported ($0.64) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.15) by ($0.49). Forward Air had a return on equity of 5.37% and a net margin of 4.08%. The company had revenue of $541.81 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $644.00 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.37 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Forward Air Co. will post -0.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Nordea Investment Management AB acquired a new stake in shares of Forward Air in the first quarter valued at about $3,437,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Forward Air in the fourth quarter worth approximately $43,281,000. Schroder Investment Management Group lifted its holdings in Forward Air by 23.4% in the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 410,664 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $25,818,000 after purchasing an additional 77,909 shares in the last quarter. Trexquant Investment LP purchased a new stake in shares of Forward Air in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,701,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in shares of Forward Air by 244.3% during the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 95,963 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,985,000 after purchasing an additional 68,093 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.