Forward Air (NASDAQ:FWRD) Shares Gap Down – Time to 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.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Forward Air Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.70. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $35.42 and its 200-day simple moving average is $26.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $970.61 million, a PE ratio of -1.51 and a beta of 1.02.

Forward Air (NASDAQ:FWRD) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The transportation company reported ($23.29) earnings per share (EPS) 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 analysts’ expectations of $642.92 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.91 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 92.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Forward Air Co. will post -1.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Forward Air

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Point72 DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Forward Air in the second quarter worth $26,000. Gladius Capital Management LP lifted its stake in shares of Forward Air by 33.5% in the second quarter. Gladius Capital Management LP now owns 1,964 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 493 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Forward Air by 2,329.3% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,992 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 1,910 shares in the last quarter. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Forward Air in the third quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC raised its stake in Forward Air by 98.5% during the first quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 1,634 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 811 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.03% of the company’s stock.

About Forward Air

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.