Stifel Nicolaus Has Lowered Expectations for Forward Air (NASDAQ:FWRD) Stock Price

Forward Air (NASDAQ:FWRD) had its price objective dropped by analysts at Stifel Nicolaus from $31.00 to $30.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the transportation company’s stock. Stifel Nicolaus’ price objective points to a potential upside of 35.26% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently commented on the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Forward Air in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Zacks Research downgraded Forward Air from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, Susquehanna reiterated a “positive” rating and issued a $42.00 target price on shares of Forward Air in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $36.00.

Forward Air Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FWRD opened at $22.18 on Thursday. Forward Air has a twelve month low of $13.61 and a twelve month high of $32.47. The company has a current ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.58. The company has a market capitalization of $699.78 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.30 and a beta of 1.46. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $21.24 and a two-hundred day moving average of $23.08.

Forward Air (NASDAQ:FWRD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 23rd. The transportation company reported ($0.28) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.27) by ($0.01). Forward Air had a negative net margin of 4.32% and a negative return on equity of 42.67%. The business had revenue of $631.23 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $629.60 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($1.23) earnings per share. Forward Air’s revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Forward Air will post -0.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Forward Air

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Forward Air by 15.1% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,353,608 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $60,347,000 after buying an additional 307,906 shares in the last quarter. Ridgemont Partners Management LLC raised its position in shares of Forward Air by 0.7% in the third quarter. Ridgemont Partners Management LLC now owns 1,937,405 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $49,675,000 after purchasing an additional 13,926 shares during the period. Ancora Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Forward Air by 8.5% in the third quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 1,475,055 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $37,820,000 after purchasing an additional 116,012 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Forward Air by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 949,784 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $23,745,000 after purchasing an additional 19,854 shares during the period. Finally, Melqart Asset Management UK Ltd raised its position in shares of Forward Air by 122.3% in the fourth quarter. Melqart Asset Management UK Ltd now owns 849,876 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $21,247,000 after purchasing an additional 467,482 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 97.03% of the company’s stock.

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.