Forward Air (NASDAQ:FWRD) Trading Down 3.6% - What's Next?

Key Points

• Shares of Forward Air fell 3.6% to $16.785 on Monday, trading as low as $16.60 on very light volume (25,878 shares, about 96% below the average daily volume).
• Analysts are divided: Zacks and Weiss downgraded the stock to strong sell/sell while Susquehanna and Stifel remain positive, leaving a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $37.
• Financials show weakness—Q4 EPS was ($0.28) (missed by $0.01), the company has a negative P/E and ROE, a market cap of ~$539M, and analysts forecast -0.72 EPS for the fiscal year; institutional ownership is roughly 97%.

Shares of Forward Air Corporation (NASDAQ:FWRD - Get Free Report) dropped 3.6% on Monday . The company traded as low as $16.60 and last traded at $16.7850. Approximately 25,878 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 96% from the average daily volume of 665,382 shares. The stock had previously closed at $17.41.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on FWRD shares. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Forward Air from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (e+)" rating on shares of Forward Air in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Susquehanna restated a "positive" rating and set a $42.00 target price on shares of Forward Air in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Forward Air from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $37.00.

Forward Air Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $539.41 million, a P/E ratio of -4.85 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.58, a current ratio of 1.22 and a quick ratio of 1.22. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $23.08 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $23.57.

Forward Air (NASDAQ:FWRD - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, February 23rd. The transportation company reported ($0.28) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.27) by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $631.23 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $629.60 million. Forward Air had a negative return on equity of 42.67% and a negative net margin of 4.32%.Forward Air's revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($1.23) EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Forward Air Corporation will post -0.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in Forward Air by 20.8% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 268,960 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $6,724,000 after purchasing an additional 46,240 shares during the period. Garton & Associates Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Forward Air during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. SummitTX Capital L.P. purchased a new position in Forward Air during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $4,030,000. One68 Global Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Forward Air in the 4th quarter worth $225,000. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC raised its holdings in Forward Air by 6.0% in the fourth quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 18,636 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $466,000 after purchasing an additional 1,055 shares in the last quarter. 97.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Forward Air Company Profile

Forward Air Corporation is a leading North American provider of expedited ground transportation and related logistics services, specializing in time-sensitive shipments. The company offers a comprehensive suite of solutions including less-than-truckload (LTL) expedited freight, consolidation and distribution services, container drayage, and final-mile delivery. By integrating transportation management with warehousing, inventory control, and technology-driven tracking, Forward Air supports customers across a variety of industries such as manufacturing, retail, automotive and chemicals.

Founded in 1981 and headquartered in Greeneville, Tennessee, Forward Air has developed a broad network of service centers, terminals and rail ramps throughout the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico.

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