Susquehanna Has Lowered Expectations for Forward Air (NASDAQ:FWRD) Stock Price

Forward Air (NASDAQ:FWRD) had its price objective reduced by equities researchers at Susquehanna from $42.00 to $18.00 in a report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “positive” rating on the transportation company’s stock. Susquehanna’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 3.87% from the company’s current price.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on FWRD. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Forward Air in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Forward Air from $31.00 to $30.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Forward Air from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Forward Air has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $24.00.

Forward Air Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FWRD opened at $17.33 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.58, a current ratio of 1.22 and a quick ratio of 1.22. Forward Air has a 1-year low of $14.81 and a 1-year high of $32.47. The company has a market capitalization of $562.36 million, a P/E ratio of -4.92 and a beta of 1.59. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $19.70 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $22.95.

Forward Air (NASDAQ:FWRD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The transportation company reported ($1.09) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.35) by ($0.74). The firm had revenue of $582.05 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $620.23 million. Forward Air had a negative return on equity of 42.67% and a negative net margin of 4.32%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned ($1.68) earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Forward Air will post -0.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Forward Air

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Forward Air by 15.1% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,353,608 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $60,347,000 after purchasing an additional 307,906 shares during the last quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Forward Air by 8.5% in the third quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 1,475,055 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $37,820,000 after buying an additional 116,012 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Forward Air by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 949,784 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $23,745,000 after buying an additional 19,854 shares during the last quarter. Melqart Asset Management UK Ltd boosted its stake in Forward Air by 122.3% during the fourth quarter. Melqart Asset Management UK Ltd now owns 849,876 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $21,247,000 after buying an additional 467,482 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cibc World Market Inc. grew its holdings in Forward Air by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 784,731 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $19,618,000 after buying an additional 28,693 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.03% of the company’s stock.

Forward Air Company Profile

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.