Forward Air (NASDAQ:FWRD) Shares Gap Down – Should You Sell?

Forward Air Co. (NASDAQ:FWRD)’s share price gapped down prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $33.73, but opened at $31.81. Forward Air shares last traded at $31.39, with a volume of 271,132 shares traded.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Forward Air to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Forward Air from $17.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Benchmark reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Forward Air in a report on Monday, August 12th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $47.00 price objective on Forward Air and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Forward Air from $31.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Forward Air currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $39.25.

Forward Air Stock Up 3.9 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.70, a current ratio of 1.33 and a quick ratio of 1.33. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $35.59 and a 200 day simple moving average of $26.51. The stock has a market cap of $1.05 billion, a PE ratio of -1.82 and a beta of 1.02.

Forward Air (NASDAQ:FWRD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The transportation company reported ($23.29) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.18) by ($23.11). The firm had revenue of $643.67 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $642.92 million. Forward Air had a negative net margin of 30.77% and a negative return on equity of 79.11%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 92.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.91 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Forward Air Co. will post -1.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Forward Air

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Nordea Investment Management AB bought a new stake in shares of Forward Air during the 1st quarter worth about $3,437,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its position in Forward Air by 244.3% during the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 95,963 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,985,000 after purchasing an additional 68,093 shares during the period. Boston Trust Walden Corp acquired a new position in Forward Air during the second quarter valued at approximately $611,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Forward Air by 14.2% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,407,797 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $106,017,000 after purchasing an additional 424,924 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Duality Advisers LP raised its position in shares of Forward Air by 156.8% in the first quarter. Duality Advisers LP now owns 100,282 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $3,120,000 after purchasing an additional 61,235 shares during the period. 97.03% of the stock is 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.