Wall Street Zen Upgrades Forward Air (NASDAQ:FWRD) to Hold

Key Points

• Forward Air has been upgraded by Wall Street Zen from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating, reflecting a shift in analysts' sentiment towards the stock.
• Analysts have varying opinions on the company, with three giving a "buy" rating, two a "hold," and one a "sell," leading to an average price target of $37.75.
• Recently, Forward Air's stock was down 2.0% to $23.43, and the company reported a loss of ($0.41) earnings per share, missing forecasts and indicating a negative net margin of 6.86%.

Forward Air (NASDAQ:FWRD - Get Free Report) was upgraded by analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report issued on Friday.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on the company. Susquehanna upped their target price on Forward Air from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (e+)" rating on shares of Forward Air in a research report on Saturday, September 27th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Forward Air from $29.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Forward Air presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $37.75.

Forward Air Trading Down 2.0%

Shares of FWRD traded down $0.47 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $23.43. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,220,052 shares, compared to its average volume of 653,651. The company has a current ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.91. The stock has a market cap of $721.41 million, a PE ratio of -3.91 and a beta of 1.39. The company's fifty day moving average price is $28.86 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $23.03. Forward Air has a 52 week low of $9.78 and a 52 week high of $40.92.

Forward Air (NASDAQ:FWRD - Get Free Report) last released its 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). Forward Air had a negative net margin of 6.86% and a negative return on equity of 40.36%. The company had revenue of $618.84 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $627.98 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted ($23.29) EPS. The company's revenue was down 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Forward Air will post -0.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Forward Air

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of FWRD. Squarepoint Ops LLC boosted its holdings in Forward Air by 348.7% in the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 140,751 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $3,454,000 after purchasing an additional 109,384 shares during the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its stake in shares of Forward Air by 5.2% in the 2nd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 15,436 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $379,000 after buying an additional 762 shares during the last quarter. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP boosted its stake in shares of Forward Air by 50.9% in the 2nd quarter. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP now owns 261,428 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $6,415,000 after buying an additional 88,185 shares during the last quarter. Caxton Associates LLP grew its holdings in shares of Forward Air by 124.2% in the second quarter. Caxton Associates LLP now owns 107,113 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $2,629,000 after acquiring an additional 59,345 shares during the period. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its position in Forward Air by 12.9% during the second quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 71,519 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $1,755,000 after acquiring an additional 8,176 shares during the last quarter. 97.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.

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