Forward Air (NASDAQ:FWRD) Shares Gap Up on Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• Forward Air's stock price increased after Susquehanna upgraded its price target from $40.00 to $43.00, with the stock opening at $30.75 after closing the previous day at $28.57.
• The company has received multiple upgrades, with research reports indicating a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $37.75.
• Forward Air reported a quarterly loss, with an EPS of ($0.41), missing estimates by ($0.24), and experiencing a 3.9% decline in revenue compared to the same quarter last year.

Forward Air Corporation (NASDAQ:FWRD - Get Free Report) gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday after Susquehanna raised their price target on the stock from $40.00 to $43.00. The stock had previously closed at $28.57, but opened at $30.75. Susquehanna currently has a positive rating on the stock. Forward Air shares last traded at $29.05, with a volume of 61,838 shares traded.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Forward Air from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, June 21st. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Forward Air from $29.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $37.75.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Forward Air

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Forward Air by 1,194.0% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 46,508 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $934,000 after acquiring an additional 42,914 shares during the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund grew its stake in shares of Forward Air by 7.8% in the first quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 294,682 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $5,920,000 after acquiring an additional 21,220 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Forward Air by 2.8% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 99,821 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $2,005,000 after acquiring an additional 2,673 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Forward Air in the fourth quarter worth $1,242,000. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company MN grew its stake in shares of Forward Air by 10.2% in the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 30,042 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $969,000 after acquiring an additional 2,773 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.03% of the company's stock.

Forward Air Stock Performance

The firm's 50 day moving average price is $26.59 and its 200-day moving average price is $22.59. The firm has a market cap of $916.62 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.97 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.91, a current ratio of 1.20 and a quick ratio of 1.13.

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