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

Shares of Forward Air Co. (NASDAQ:FWRD – Get Rating) have earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eight ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, three have assigned a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $126.50.

Several brokerages have weighed in on FWRD. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $125.00 target price on shares of Forward Air in a research note on Thursday, February 9th. Susquehanna lowered their target price on Forward Air from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 10th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $110.00 target price on shares of Forward Air in a research note on Wednesday, January 4th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Forward Air from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 15th.

Forward Air Trading Up 1.3 %

NASDAQ:FWRD opened at $107.38 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $105.05 and its 200 day moving average price is $103.28. The company has a market capitalization of $2.83 billion, a PE ratio of 15.04 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a quick ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 1.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. Forward Air has a 52-week low of $84.04 and a 52-week high of $117.57.

Forward Air (NASDAQ:FWRD – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 9th. The transportation company reported $1.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.95 by ($0.30). Forward Air had a return on equity of 29.20% and a net margin of 9.79%. The firm had revenue of $481.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $501.18 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.40 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Forward Air will post 6.75 EPS for the current year.

Forward Air Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 17th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 1st. Forward Air’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.45%.

Insider Transactions at Forward Air

In other news, Director Laurie Anne Tucker bought 4,000 shares of Forward Air stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 15th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $101.97 per share, with a total value of $407,880.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 10,221 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,042,235.37. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, Director Laurie Anne Tucker acquired 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 15th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $101.97 per share, with a total value of $407,880.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 10,221 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,042,235.37. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, COO Chris C. Ruble sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.85, for a total transaction of $217,700.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 23,336 shares in the company, valued at $2,540,123.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 7,000 shares of company stock valued at $753,135. Insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Forward Air

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in shares of Forward Air by 12.3% during the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 5,836 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $570,000 after purchasing an additional 640 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE boosted its stake in Forward Air by 3.9% during the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 5,053 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $495,000 after acquiring an additional 192 shares during the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. boosted its stake in Forward Air by 7.7% during the 1st quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 24,107 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,357,000 after acquiring an additional 1,730 shares during the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Forward Air by 55.8% during the 1st quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 13,970 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,366,000 after acquiring an additional 5,003 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers raised its stake in Forward Air by 5.7% during the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 68,402 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $6,688,000 after buying an additional 3,715 shares during the period. 99.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Forward Air Company Profile

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Forward Air Corp. engages in the provision of less-than-truckload (LTL), truckload, intermodal and pool distribution services. It operates through the following segments: Expedited LTL and Intermodal. The Expedited LTL segment provides expedited regional, inter-regional and national LTL, final mile and truckload services.