Forward Air (NASDAQ:FWRD) Rating Reiterated by Benchmark

Forward Air (NASDAQ:FWRD)‘s stock had its “hold” rating restated by Benchmark in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports.

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

Forward Air Trading Down 1.3 %

Shares of Forward Air stock traded down $0.30 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $22.35. 215,582 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 929,349. Forward Air has a 52-week low of $22.25 and a 52-week high of $121.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $589.37 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.50 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a fifty day moving average of $32.36 and a 200-day moving average of $52.22. The company has a current ratio of 1.46, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.38.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Forward Air

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of FWRD. Quarry LP lifted its stake in Forward Air by 156.2% in the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 456 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 278 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Forward Air in the 1st quarter worth about $45,000. CWM LLC increased its position in Forward Air by 86.9% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 669 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 311 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in Forward Air in the 4th quarter worth about $52,000. Finally, Signaturefd LLC increased its holdings in shares of Forward Air by 306.9% during the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 948 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $65,000 after acquiring an additional 715 shares during the last quarter. 97.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.