Forward Air (NASDAQ:FWRD) Shares Gap Up on Analyst Upgrade

Forward Air Corporation (NASDAQ:FWRD) gapped up prior to trading on Thursday after Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on the stock from $19.00 to $27.00. The stock had previously closed at $15.41, but opened at $17.69. Stifel Nicolaus currently has a buy rating on the stock. Forward Air shares last traded at $17.10, with a volume of 196,368 shares.

FWRD has been the subject of several other research reports. Susquehanna dropped their price objective on Forward Air from $42.00 to $18.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 8th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Forward Air in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Forward Air from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $22.50.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Forward Air

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its stake in Forward Air by 4.4% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 14,875 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $299,000 after acquiring an additional 624 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Forward Air by 7.0% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 10,009 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $201,000 after purchasing an additional 654 shares in the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Forward Air by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 43,228 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,081,000 after purchasing an additional 655 shares during the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its holdings in shares of Forward Air by 5.2% during the 2nd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 15,436 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $379,000 after purchasing an additional 762 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Logan Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Forward Air by 11.7% during the 3rd quarter. Logan Capital Management Inc. now owns 7,575 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $194,000 after purchasing an additional 791 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.03% of the company’s stock.

Forward Air Trading Up 6.8%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.98, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 1.23. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $13.27 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $18.04. The stock has a market cap of $520.55 million, a PE ratio of -5.66 and a beta of 1.36.

Forward Air (NASDAQ:FWRD) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The transportation company reported ($1.09) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.35) by ($0.74). Forward Air had a negative return on equity of 41.21% and a negative net margin of 3.71%.The firm had revenue of $582.05 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $620.23 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($1.68) earnings per share. Forward Air’s quarterly revenue was down 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Forward Air Corporation will post -1.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Forward Air

Forward Air Corporation is a leading North American provider of expedited ground transportation and related logistics services, specializing in time-sensitive shipments. The company offers a comprehensive suite of solutions including less-than-truckload (LTL) expedited freight, consolidation and distribution services, container drayage, and final-mile delivery. By integrating transportation management with warehousing, inventory control, and technology-driven tracking, Forward Air supports customers across a variety of industries such as manufacturing, retail, automotive and chemicals.

Founded in 1981 and headquartered in Greeneville, Tennessee, Forward Air has developed a broad network of service centers, terminals and rail ramps throughout the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico.