Forward Air (NASDAQ:FWRD) Trading 5.3% Higher - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Forward Air's stock experienced a 5.3% increase, trading at $30.52 after a decline in trading volume compared to its average session.
• Analysts have set new price targets for Forward Air, with Stifel Nicolaus raising the target to $33.00 and Susquehanna increasing it to $43.00, reflecting a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy."
• Despite an increase in stock price, Forward Air reported a loss of ($0.41) EPS for the latest quarter, falling short of analysts' expectations and showing a year-over-year revenue decrease of 3.9%.

Forward Air Corporation (NASDAQ:FWRD - Get Free Report) shares traded up 5.3% on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $30.33 and last traded at $30.52. 61,046 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 91% from the average session volume of 655,521 shares. The stock had previously closed at $28.99.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on FWRD. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Forward Air from $29.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Susquehanna boosted their target price on shares of Forward Air from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of 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 MarketBeat.com, Forward Air currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $37.75.

Forward Air Trading Up 2.2%

The company has a current ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.91. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $26.13 and a 200 day simple moving average of $22.64. The firm has a market cap of $911.82 million, a PE ratio of -4.97 and a beta of 1.43.

Forward Air (NASDAQ:FWRD - Get Free Report) last announced 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). The business had revenue of $618.84 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $627.98 million. Forward Air had a negative net margin of 6.86% and a negative return on equity of 40.36%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned ($23.29) EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Forward Air Corporation will post -0.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Forward Air

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in FWRD. Amalgamated Bank grew its position in shares of Forward Air by 8.5% in the 2nd quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 6,174 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $152,000 after acquiring an additional 484 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Forward Air by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 14,251 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $460,000 after purchasing an additional 498 shares during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised 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 valued at $61,000 after acquiring an additional 530 shares in the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its position in shares of Forward Air by 9.7% during the 4th quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 6,949 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $224,000 after purchasing an additional 615 shares during the period. Finally, Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey increased its position in shares of Forward Air by 12.3% during the 2nd quarter. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey now owns 5,725 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $140,000 after purchasing an additional 629 shares during the period. 97.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Forward Air Company Profile

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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