Forward Air (NASDAQ:FWRD) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Susquehanna Analyst Says

Key Points

• Susquehanna raised its target price for Forward Air stock from $40.00 to $43.00, indicating a potential upside of 50.51% from the current price.
• Forward Air reported a negative earnings per share of ($0.41) for the last quarter, missing estimates, and the company’s revenue decreased by 3.9% year-over-year.
• Institutional investors own a significant majority of Forward Air, with 97.03% of the stock held by institutions and hedge funds, indicating strong institutional support.

Forward Air (NASDAQ:FWRD - Get Free Report) had its target price lifted by equities researchers at Susquehanna from $40.00 to $43.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a "positive" rating on the transportation company's stock. Susquehanna's price objective points to a potential upside of 44.44% from the company's current price.

FWRD has been the topic of several other research reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Forward Air from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, June 21st. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Forward Air from $29.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $37.75.

Forward Air Trading Down 2.4%

Shares of FWRD traded down $0.72 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $29.77. The company had a trading volume of 434,726 shares, compared to its average volume of 621,433. The stock has a market cap of $916.62 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.97 and a beta of 1.43. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $26.59 and a 200-day simple moving average of $22.59. Forward Air has a fifty-two week low of $9.78 and a fifty-two week high of $40.92. The company has a current ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.91.

Forward Air (NASDAQ:FWRD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 11th. The transportation company reported ($0.41) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.17) by ($0.24). The company had revenue of $618.84 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $627.98 million. Forward Air had a negative net margin of 6.86% and a negative return on equity of 40.36%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned ($23.29) EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Forward Air will post -0.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Forward Air

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Amalgamated Bank increased its stake in Forward Air by 8.5% during the 2nd quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 6,174 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $152,000 after buying an additional 484 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its stake in Forward Air by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 14,251 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $460,000 after buying an additional 498 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Forward Air by 26.9% in the 2nd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,499 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $61,000 after purchasing an additional 530 shares during the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its position in shares of Forward Air by 9.7% in the 4th quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 6,949 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $224,000 after purchasing an additional 615 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey increased its position in shares of Forward Air by 12.3% in the 2nd quarter. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey now owns 5,725 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $140,000 after purchasing an additional 629 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.03% of the company's stock.

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.