Forward Air (NASDAQ:FWRD) Shares Down 3%

Forward Air Co. (NASDAQ:FWRD) was down 3% on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $24.35 and last traded at $24.46. Approximately 21,310 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 98% from the average daily volume of 927,479 shares. The stock had previously closed at $25.22.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Forward Air from $80.00 to $55.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 22nd. Benchmark reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Forward Air in a research note on Thursday. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on Forward Air from $50.00 to $40.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 1st. StockNews.com lowered Forward Air from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, March 18th. Finally, Wolfe Research lowered shares of Forward Air from a “peer perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $50.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $80.14.

Forward Air Trading Up 0.4 %

The business has a fifty day moving average price of $31.96 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $52.01. The company has a current ratio of 1.46, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $599.92 million, a PE ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 0.98.

Forward Air (NASDAQ:FWRD) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 29th. The transportation company reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by ($0.16). Forward Air had a net margin of 10.58% and a return on equity of 15.30%. The company had revenue of $338.43 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $406.96 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.65 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Forward Air Co. will post 0.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Forward Air

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Quarry LP lifted its stake in Forward Air by 156.2% during the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 456 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 278 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Forward Air during the 1st quarter worth about $45,000. CWM LLC boosted its holdings in Forward Air by 86.9% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 669 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 311 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in Forward Air in the 4th quarter valued at about $52,000. Finally, Signaturefd LLC increased its stake in Forward Air by 306.9% during the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 948 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $65,000 after purchasing an additional 715 shares during the period. 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.