Forward Air (NASDAQ:FWRD) Shares Gap Up on Earnings Beat

Forward Air Corporation (NASDAQ:FWRD) shares gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $17.65, but opened at $18.97. Forward Air shares last traded at $16.94, with a volume of 89,475 shares trading hands.

The transportation company reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.13 by $0.21. Forward Air had a negative net margin of 11.37% and a negative return on equity of 19.49%. The company had revenue of $673.86 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $673.40 million.

Key Stories Impacting Forward Air

Here are the key news stories impacting Forward Air this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Forward Air earned $0.34 per share in Q3, beating analyst estimates, and swung to a profit from a $0.52-per-share loss a year earlier. Revenue of about $673.9 million was roughly in line with expectations. Zacks Q3 earnings report
• Negative Sentiment: Management indicated the network has 15%–18% excess capacity, which could weigh on utilization and profitability while the company works to align capacity with demand. Forward Air has also paused the intermodal sale process, leaving uncertainty around that strategic option. Report on excess capacity and intermodal sale process

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on FWRD shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Forward Air from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Forward Air from a “sell (e+)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 8th. Zacks Research raised Forward Air from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and issued a $28.00 price target (up from $27.00) on shares of Forward Air in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Susquehanna reduced their price objective on Forward Air from $29.00 to $25.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $26.50.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Forward Air

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC bought a new stake in shares of Forward Air in the second quarter worth $28,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Forward Air by 2.2% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 108,143 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,807,000 after purchasing an additional 2,302 shares during the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP raised its position in Forward Air by 25.0% during the 1st quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 20,758 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $347,000 after purchasing an additional 4,155 shares during the last quarter. Allied Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Forward Air during the 2nd quarter worth about $57,000. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its holdings in Forward Air by 2,397.7% during the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 5,495 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $92,000 after buying an additional 5,275 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 97.03% of the company’s stock.

Forward Air Price Performance

The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $16.06 and a 200 day simple moving average of $17.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $565.52 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.90 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.98, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a current ratio of 1.32.

About Forward Air

Forward Air Corporation (NASDAQ: FWRD) is a transportation and logistics company that provides time-definite freight and supply chain services. Its offerings include expedited less-than-truckload transportation, truckload services, intermodal and drayage operations, final-mile delivery, and other logistics solutions designed for shipments requiring reliable transit times.

The company serves businesses across North America and supports domestic and international supply chains through a network of terminals, transportation partners, and logistics facilities.