Forward Air (NASDAQ:FWRD) Trading Up 3.3%

Forward Air Co. (NASDAQ:FWRD - Get Free Report) shares rose 3.3% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $25.39 and last traded at $25.34. Approximately 312,125 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 67% from the average daily volume of 933,527 shares. The stock had previously closed at $24.52.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FWRD has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on Forward Air from $50.00 to $40.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 1st. Wolfe Research lowered Forward Air from a "peer perform" rating to an "underperform" rating and set a $50.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. Benchmark reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Forward Air in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. StockNews.com lowered Forward Air from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Monday, March 18th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Forward Air from $80.00 to $55.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $80.14.

Forward Air Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.38, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a current ratio of 1.46. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $32.79 and a 200-day moving average of $52.42. The firm has a market cap of $665.05 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.93 and a beta of 0.98.

Forward Air (NASDAQ:FWRD - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 29th. The transportation company reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.97 by ($0.16). Forward Air had a return on equity of 15.30% and a net margin of 10.58%. The business had revenue of $338.43 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $406.96 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.65 earnings per share. The business's revenue was down 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Forward Air Co. will post 0.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Forward Air

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FWRD. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in shares of Forward Air by 15,487.6% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 726,538 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $49,942,000 after buying an additional 721,877 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Forward Air in the 4th quarter worth about $43,281,000. UBS Group AG increased its holdings in Forward Air by 809.8% in the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 683,566 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $46,988,000 after purchasing an additional 608,430 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its holdings in Forward Air by 54.7% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,213,405 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $83,410,000 after purchasing an additional 428,912 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. acquired a new position in Forward Air in the 3rd quarter worth about $27,870,000. 97.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.