Forward Air (NASDAQ:FWRD) Price Target Cut to $14.00

Forward Air (NASDAQ:FWRD) had its price target reduced by investment analysts at Robert W. Baird from $24.00 to $14.00 in a report released on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “neutral” rating on the transportation company’s stock. Robert W. Baird’s price objective would indicate a potential downside of 16.47% from the stock’s previous close.

FWRD has been the topic of a number of other research reports. StockNews.com downgraded Forward Air from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, March 18th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Forward Air in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of Forward Air from $80.00 to $55.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $76.43.

Forward Air Trading Down 22.1 %

Forward Air stock opened at $16.76 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $26.51 and a 200 day moving average price of $46.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.38, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a current ratio of 1.46. Forward Air has a 52 week low of $12.85 and a 52 week high of $121.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $441.96 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.06.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Private Management Group Inc. bought a new position in Forward Air during the first quarter worth $31,007,000. Ridgemont Partners Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Forward Air during the first quarter valued at about $21,796,000. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System lifted its stake in shares of Forward Air by 40.2% in the first quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 10,468 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $326,000 after buying an additional 3,000 shares during the period. Entropy Technologies LP grew its position in Forward Air by 83.4% during the first quarter. Entropy Technologies LP now owns 36,957 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,150,000 after buying an additional 16,809 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Isthmus Partners LLC increased its stake in Forward Air by 99.0% during the first quarter. Isthmus Partners LLC now owns 56,351 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,753,000 after acquiring an additional 28,027 shares during the period. 97.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Forward Air Company Profile

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.