Forward Air (NASDAQ:FWRD) Shares Down 6.2%

Forward Air Co. (NASDAQ:FWRD)’s share price was down 6.2% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $31.41 and last traded at $31.41. Approximately 129,730 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 88% from the average daily volume of 1,052,209 shares. The stock had previously closed at $33.50.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on FWRD. Benchmark reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Forward Air in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Forward Air from $17.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded Forward Air from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $51.00.

Forward Air Stock Up 0.4 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.70, a current ratio of 1.33 and a quick ratio of 1.33. The company has a market cap of $844.43 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.34 and a beta of 1.02. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $26.06 and its 200-day moving average price is $24.82.

Forward Air (NASDAQ:FWRD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The transportation company reported ($23.29) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.18) by ($23.11). Forward Air had a negative net margin of 30.77% and a negative return on equity of 79.11%. The company had revenue of $643.67 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $642.92 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.91 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 92.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Forward Air Co. will post -1.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Forward Air

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Nordea Investment Management AB purchased a new position in Forward Air in the 1st quarter valued at about $3,437,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Forward Air in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $43,281,000. Schroder Investment Management Group boosted its stake in shares of Forward Air by 23.4% during the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 410,664 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $25,818,000 after buying an additional 77,909 shares during the last quarter. Trexquant Investment LP acquired a new stake in shares of Forward Air during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,701,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in shares of Forward Air by 244.3% in the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 95,963 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,985,000 after buying an additional 68,093 shares during the last quarter. 97.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Forward Air Company Profile

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.