Forward Air Corporation (NASDAQ:FWRD) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of Forward Air Corporation (NASDAQ:FWRD) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the seven brokerages that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have given a hold recommendation and three have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $33.6667.

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on FWRD shares. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Forward Air in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Zacks Research raised shares of Forward Air from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Forward Air from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, October 11th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Forward Air in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Forward Air from $32.00 to $30.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 17th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Forward Air

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in FWRD. Penn Capital Management Company LLC increased its position in Forward Air by 67.1% in the third quarter. Penn Capital Management Company LLC now owns 17,374 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $445,000 after purchasing an additional 6,977 shares during the period. XTX Topco Ltd bought a new position in shares of Forward Air in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,169,000. Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Forward Air during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $209,000. Prelude Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Forward Air by 20.2% during the third quarter. Prelude Capital Management LLC now owns 21,009 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $539,000 after buying an additional 3,532 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lombard Odier Asset Management USA Corp raised its stake in shares of Forward Air by 185.1% during the third quarter. Lombard Odier Asset Management USA Corp now owns 35,640 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $914,000 after buying an additional 23,141 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.03% of the company’s stock.

Forward Air Trading Up 0.5%

FWRD stock opened at $25.46 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $22.17 and a 200 day moving average price of $25.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.73, a current ratio of 1.20 and a quick ratio of 1.20. Forward Air has a fifty-two week low of $9.78 and a fifty-two week high of $35.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $795.47 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.61 and a beta of 1.37.

Forward Air (NASDAQ:FWRD) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The transportation company reported ($0.52) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.13) by ($0.39). Forward Air had a negative return on equity of 33.13% and a negative net margin of 4.64%.The business had revenue of $631.76 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $645.45 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($2.62) EPS. Forward Air’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Forward Air will post -0.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Forward Air

Forward Air Corporation is a leading North American provider of expedited ground transportation and related logistics services, specializing in time-sensitive shipments. The company offers a comprehensive suite of solutions including less-than-truckload (LTL) expedited freight, consolidation and distribution services, container drayage, and final-mile delivery. By integrating transportation management with warehousing, inventory control, and technology-driven tracking, Forward Air supports customers across a variety of industries such as manufacturing, retail, automotive and chemicals.

Founded in 1981 and headquartered in Greeneville, Tennessee, Forward Air has developed a broad network of service centers, terminals and rail ramps throughout the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico.