Forward Air (NASDAQ:FWRD) Stock Price Down 3%

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Forward Air Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.46, a current ratio of 1.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.38. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $31.96 and its 200 day moving average price is $52.01. The company has a market cap of $599.92 million, a P/E ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 0.98.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Forward Air

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Cim Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Forward Air by 3.6% in the 1st quarter. Cim Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,541 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $382,000 after buying an additional 122 shares during the period. Gotham Asset Management LLC increased its position in Forward Air by 1.5% during the first quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 9,202 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $992,000 after acquiring an additional 134 shares during the period. Guggenheim Capital LLC raised its stake in Forward Air by 7.1% during the 2nd quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC now owns 2,428 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $258,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. boosted its holdings in Forward Air by 39.5% in the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 653 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $68,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares during the period. Finally, US Bancorp DE grew its position in Forward Air by 3.9% in the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 5,053 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $495,000 after purchasing an additional 192 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.