Forward Air (NASDAQ:FWRD) Shares Gap Down – Here’s What Happened

Forward Air Co. (NASDAQ:FWRD) shares gapped down prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $36.08, but opened at $35.06. Forward Air shares last traded at $34.96, with a volume of 116,430 shares.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Benchmark restated a “hold” rating on shares of Forward Air in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Forward Air from $17.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Forward Air currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $51.00.

Forward Air Stock Performance

The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $32.36 and its 200-day moving average price is $25.32. The company has a current ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.70. The company has a market capitalization of $1.02 billion, a P/E ratio of -1.76 and a beta of 1.02.

Forward Air (NASDAQ:FWRD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The transportation company reported ($23.29) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.18) by ($23.11). Forward Air had a negative return on equity of 79.11% and a negative net margin of 30.77%. The business had revenue of $643.67 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $642.92 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.91 EPS. Forward Air’s revenue was up 92.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Forward Air Co. will post -1.01 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FWRD. Clearlake Capital Group L.P. lifted its stake in Forward Air by 255.2% in the second quarter. Clearlake Capital Group L.P. now owns 3,825,000 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $72,828,000 after buying an additional 2,747,994 shares during the last quarter. Ridgemont Partners Management LLC lifted its position in Forward Air by 172.7% in the 2nd quarter. Ridgemont Partners Management LLC now owns 1,910,615 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $36,378,000 after purchasing an additional 1,210,006 shares during the last quarter. Private Management Group Inc. acquired a new position in Forward Air during the 1st quarter valued at about $31,007,000. MFN Partners Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Forward Air in the second quarter valued at approximately $17,208,000. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Forward Air by 712.5% during the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 680,929 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $12,965,000 after buying an additional 597,120 shares during the last quarter. 97.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.