Wall Street Zen Downgrades Forward Air (NASDAQ:FWRD) to Sell

Key Points

• Forward Air has been downgraded from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating by analysts at Wall Street Zen.
• The company's latest earnings report revealed a loss of ($0.41) earnings per share, significantly missing expectations.
• Forward Air now has an average price target of $37.75 with conflicting ratings from various research analysts, including three "buy" and two "hold" ratings.

Forward Air (NASDAQ:FWRD - Get Free Report) was downgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report issued on Saturday.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on FWRD. Susquehanna lifted 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 boosted their target price on Forward Air from $29.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $37.75.

Forward Air Stock Up 1.1%

FWRD stock traded up $0.32 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $28.10. 17,771 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 646,903. The stock has a market cap of $865.14 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.69 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a quick ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.91. Forward Air has a fifty-two week low of $9.78 and a fifty-two week high of $40.92. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $29.33 and its 200 day moving average price is $22.64.

Forward Air (NASDAQ:FWRD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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). The company had revenue of $618.84 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $627.98 million. Forward Air had a negative net margin of 6.86% and a negative return on equity of 40.36%. Forward Air's revenue for the quarter was down 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($23.29) EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Forward Air will post -0.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Forward Air

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FWRD. Byrne Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Forward Air by 81.3% in the 1st quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC now owns 1,940 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 870 shares during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 530 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 1,753 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new position in Forward Air in the fourth quarter worth about $72,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake 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 buying an additional 790 shares in the last quarter. 97.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.