Brokerages expect Forward Air Co. (NASDAQ:FWRD) to report $323.13 million in sales for the current quarter, according to Zacks Investment Research. Four analysts have issued estimates for Forward Air’s earnings, with the lowest sales estimate coming in at $314.90 million and the highest estimate coming in at $328.00 million. Forward Air reported sales of $302.61 million in the same quarter last year, which indicates a positive year over year growth rate of 6.8%. The business is expected to report its next earnings report on Wednesday, April 24th.
On average, analysts expect that Forward Air will report full-year sales of $1.42 billion for the current year, with estimates ranging from $1.39 billion to $1.44 billion. For the next fiscal year, analysts forecast that the firm will report sales of $1.50 billion, with estimates ranging from $1.45 billion to $1.56 billion. Zacks Investment Research’s sales calculations are an average based on a survey of analysts that that provide coverage for Forward Air.
Get Forward Air alerts:Forward Air (NASDAQ:FWRD) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 7th. The transportation company reported $0.95 EPS for the quarter, beating the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $0.83 by $0.12. Forward Air had a net margin of 6.97% and a return on equity of 16.97%. The company had revenue of $356.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $347.16 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.65 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year.
FWRD has been the topic of a number of research reports. BidaskClub lowered Forward Air from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. ValuEngine lowered Forward Air from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 1st. Finally, Zacks Investment Research upgraded Forward Air from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 14th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. The stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $68.75.
Shares of NASDAQ:FWRD traded up $0.10 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $63.53. 3,849 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 143,357. Forward Air has a 1 year low of $51.00 and a 1 year high of $72.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.36 and a beta of 1.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 2.69 and a quick ratio of 2.66.
The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 22nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 6th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.13%. Forward Air’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.08%.
In other Forward Air news, COO Chris C. Ruble sold 7,926 shares of Forward Air stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.12, for a total value of $516,141.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 31,489 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,050,563.68. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Bruce A. Campbell sold 8,240 shares of Forward Air stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.20, for a total value of $537,248.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 93,732 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,111,326.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 43,087 shares of company stock worth $2,842,670. Insiders own 1.95% of the company’s stock.
Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Forward Air by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 329,627 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $18,080,000 after purchasing an additional 16,689 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Forward Air in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,713,000. APG Asset Management N.V. increased its holdings in shares of Forward Air by 10.0% in the fourth quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. now owns 39,500 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,895,000 after purchasing an additional 3,600 shares during the period. Amalgamated Bank acquired a new position in shares of Forward Air in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $252,000. Finally, Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Forward Air by 20.1% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 13,142 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $721,000 after purchasing an additional 2,199 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.48% 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 State and Canada. The company operates through four segments: Expedited Less-than-truckload (LTL), Truckload Premium Services (TLS), Intermodal, and Pool Distribution (Pool).
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