Forward Air (NASDAQ:FWRD) Stock Crosses Above 200 Day Moving Average - Should You Sell?

Key Points

• Forward Air shares moved above their 200-day moving average, trading as high as $17.61 versus the average of $17.22; the stock was last at $17.39.
• Analysts’ consensus rating is “Moderate Buy,” with a $26.50 price target. Recent opinions ranged from Sell to Strong Buy, including target cuts and increases.
• Quarterly EPS of $0.34 beat the $0.13 estimate, while revenue of $673.86 million was slightly above expectations. Analysts forecast a full-year loss of $0.84 per share.

Forward Air Corporation (NASDAQ:FWRD - Get Free Report)'s stock price crossed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Friday. The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $17.22 and traded as high as $17.61. Forward Air shares last traded at $17.39, with a volume of 438,433 shares traded.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Forward Air from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Forward Air from a "sell (e+)" rating to a "sell (d-)" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 8th. Susquehanna decreased their target price on shares of Forward Air from $29.00 to $25.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $28.00 price target (up from $27.00) on shares of Forward Air in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Forward Air from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $26.50.

Forward Air Stock Up 1.3%

The company has a quick ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.98. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $16.15 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $17.22. The company has a market cap of $586.91 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.16 and a beta of 1.31.

Forward Air (NASDAQ:FWRD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 9th. The transportation company reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.13 by $0.21. Forward Air had a negative net margin of 10.10% and a positive return on equity of 78.18%. The business had revenue of $673.86 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $673.40 million. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Forward Air Corporation will post -0.84 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Forward Air

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Forward Air in the 2nd quarter worth about $37,485,000. Private Management Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Forward Air by 3.4% in the third quarter. Private Management Group Inc. now owns 1,184,883 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $18,069,000 after acquiring an additional 39,123 shares in the last quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. acquired a new stake in Forward Air in the second quarter valued at approximately $14,485,000. Deutsche Bank AG bought a new stake in Forward Air during the 2nd quarter valued at $8,293,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Forward Air by 108.7% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 318,858 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $5,328,000 after buying an additional 166,084 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.03% of the company's stock.

Forward Air Company Profile

Forward Air Corporation is a transportation and logistics company that specializes in expedited freight and time-sensitive shipments. Its services include less-than-truckload transportation, truckload services, intermodal drayage, freight forwarding and other logistics solutions. The company's ground transportation network connects major North American markets and includes services supporting air cargo shipments. Following its acquisition of Omni Logistics, Forward Air also offers international freight forwarding, customs brokerage and related supply-chain services.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.