Forward Air (NASDAQ:FWRD) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $0.24 EPS

Key Points

• Forward Air reported a quarterly loss of ($0.41) EPS, missing analysts' expectations by $0.25. The company also experienced a 3.9% decline in revenue compared to the previous year.
• Shares of Forward Air fell by 5.6% to $28.57 following the earnings announcement, amidst increased trading volume.
• Several analysts retained a positive outlook on the stock, with a consensus target price of $35.00 and a majority rating it as a "Moderate Buy."

Forward Air (NASDAQ:FWRD - Get Free Report) announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday. The transportation company reported ($0.41) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.17) by ($0.24), Zacks reports. The firm had revenue of $618.84 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $627.98 million. Forward Air had a negative net margin of 31.66% and a negative return on equity of 242.42%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($23.29) EPS.

Forward Air Stock Down 5.6%

Shares of Forward Air stock opened at $28.57 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $869.10 million, a P/E ratio of -0.98 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.55. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $25.69 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $22.55. Forward Air has a 12-month low of $9.78 and a 12-month high of $40.92.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Forward Air

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its position in Forward Air by 4.4% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 14,875 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $299,000 after purchasing an additional 624 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Forward Air by 7.0% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 10,009 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $201,000 after purchasing an additional 654 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Forward Air by 64.2% during the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 73,040 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $1,467,000 after purchasing an additional 28,564 shares during the period. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted its position in Forward Air by 1,179.7% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 321,092 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $6,451,000 after purchasing an additional 296,001 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 97.03% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on FWRD shares. Stifel Nicolaus boosted 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 raised Forward Air from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, June 21st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $35.00.

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.