Zacks Research Downgrades Forward Air (NASDAQ:FWRD) to Strong Sell

Forward Air (NASDAQ:FWRD) was downgraded by stock analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

FWRD has been the topic of several other research reports. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Forward Air in a report on Thursday, November 6th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Forward Air from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 11th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Forward Air in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on shares of Forward Air from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on Forward Air from $32.00 to $30.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 17th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Forward Air presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $34.33.

Forward Air Trading Up 4.7%

Shares of Forward Air stock traded up $1.33 on Tuesday, reaching $29.56. 55,905 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 463,790. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $24.23 and its two-hundred day moving average is $25.70. The company has a market capitalization of $923.82 million, a P/E ratio of -7.56 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.73, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a current ratio of 1.20. Forward Air has a 52 week low of $9.78 and a 52 week high of $35.47.

Forward Air (NASDAQ:FWRD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The transportation company reported ($0.52) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.13) by ($0.39). The company had revenue of $631.76 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $645.45 million. Forward Air had a negative return on equity of 33.13% and a negative net margin of 4.64%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($2.62) earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Forward Air will post -0.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Royal Bank of Canada grew its position in Forward Air by 1,179.7% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 321,092 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $6,451,000 after acquiring an additional 296,001 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Forward Air by 7.0% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 10,009 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $201,000 after acquiring an additional 654 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its stake in shares of 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 during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Forward Air by 64.2% in the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 73,040 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,467,000 after purchasing an additional 28,564 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Forward Air by 34.1% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,105 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $76,000 after purchasing an additional 790 shares during the last quarter. 97.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.