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

Key Points

• Forward Air Corporation (NASDAQ:FWRD) has been rated with a consensus of "Hold" by six brokerages, which includes one sell rating, two hold ratings, and three buy ratings, with an average price target of $37.75.
• Recent earnings reports show Forward Air missed consensus estimates, reporting earnings per share of ($0.41) compared to the expected ($0.17), alongside a negative net margin of 6.86%.
• Institutional investors own 97.03% of Forward Air's stock, with notable increases in stakes from firms like Byrne Asset Management and Tower Research Capital.

Forward Air Corporation (NASDAQ:FWRD - Get Free Report) has received a consensus rating of "Hold" from the six brokerages that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $37.75.

FWRD has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Susquehanna upped their price target on Forward Air from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Forward Air from $29.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Wall Street Zen cut Forward Air from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (e+)" rating on shares of Forward Air in a research note on Wednesday.

Institutional Trading of Forward Air

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Byrne Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Forward Air by 81.3% during the 1st quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC now owns 1,940 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 870 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Forward Air by 26.9% during the 2nd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,499 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $61,000 after purchasing an additional 530 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its stake in Forward Air by 207.0% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,600 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $64,000 after purchasing an additional 1,753 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Forward Air by 34.1% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,105 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $76,000 after purchasing an additional 790 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Forward Air during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $107,000. 97.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Forward Air Stock Performance

Forward Air stock opened at $22.59 on Friday. 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 has a 1 year low of $9.78 and a 1 year high of $40.92. The company has a market cap of $695.55 million, a PE ratio of -3.77 and a beta of 1.39. The company's 50-day moving average is $28.15 and its two-hundred day moving average is $23.11.

Forward Air (NASDAQ:FWRD - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, August 11th. The transportation company reported ($0.41) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.17) by ($0.24). Forward Air had a negative net margin of 6.86% and a negative return on equity of 40.36%. The business had revenue of $618.84 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $627.98 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($23.29) earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Forward Air will post -0.72 earnings per share for the current year.

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.

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