Forward Air Corporation (NASDAQ:FWRD) Receives $37.75 Consensus Target Price from Brokerages

Forward Air Corporation (NASDAQ:FWRD) has been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the six brokerages that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $37.75.

Several equities analysts have recently commented on FWRD shares. Wall Street Zen lowered Forward Air from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Forward Air in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Susquehanna boosted their price objective on Forward Air from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Forward Air from $29.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th.

Forward Air Stock Down 3.9%

NASDAQ:FWRD opened at $21.72 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $668.76 million, a PE ratio of -3.63 and a beta of 1.39. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $27.99 and a 200-day moving average of $23.14. Forward Air has a 52 week low of $9.78 and a 52 week high of $40.92. The company has a current ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.91.

Forward Air (NASDAQ:FWRD) last posted its earnings results on Monday, August 11th. The transportation company reported ($0.41) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.17) by ($0.24). The company had revenue of $618.84 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $627.98 million. Forward Air had a negative net margin of 6.86% and a negative return on equity of 40.36%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted ($23.29) earnings per share. Analysts predict that Forward Air will post -0.72 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Forward Air

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Byrne Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Forward Air by 81.3% during the first quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC now owns 1,940 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 870 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Forward Air by 26.9% during the second quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,499 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $61,000 after buying an additional 530 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its position in shares of Forward Air by 207.0% during the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,600 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $64,000 after buying an additional 1,753 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Forward Air by 34.1% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,105 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $76,000 after purchasing an additional 790 shares during the period. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Forward Air in the second quarter worth approximately $107,000. 97.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.