On May 23, 2023, Clearbridge Investments Llc disclosed to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that it has increased its position in Forward Air Co. (NASDAQ:FWRD) by 0.1% during the fourth quarter. As a result, the company now owns 1,109,438 shares of Forward Air’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,173 shares during this period.
Accordingly, the value of Clearbridge Investments LLC’s equity in Forward Air stands at $116,369,000 as per its most recent SEC filing. This represents roughly 4.17% of Forward Air’s total market value.
Forward Air recently revealed its quarterly earnings as of May 1st and announced EPS of $1.37 for this quarter. The consensus estimate for EPS had been $1.30 among analysts covering the transportation company.
Forward Air had recorded $427.07 million as revenue from operations over this period which fell short compared to analysts’ expectations of $460.54 million. The transportation giant posted net margins of 9.66%, resulting in a return on equity of 27.50%.
Furthermore, it is worth noting that Forward Air’s revenue for this period was down by approximately 8.5% on a year-over-year basis while EPS was reported to be at $1.57 per share for the same duration last year.
Currently engaged in providing less-than-truckload (LTL), truckload, intermodal and pool distribution services through separate segments such as Expedited LTL and Intermodal, Forward Air remains poised for steady growth in the coming fiscal year with analysts expecting is to post about $5.92 in terms of EPS over this said period.
Overall, given recent developments concerning Forward Air Co., Clearbridge Investments LLC’s upped position appears to make perfect sense with upside potential spurring investors’ confidence across operations with bright prospects ahead in future.
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Institutional Investors and Hedge Funds Take Interest in Forward Air Corp as Earnings Disappoint
Forward Air Corp (NASDAQ:FWRD) has seen a recent hike in the number of institutional investors taking a stake, as well as hedge funds. Recent arrivals include EverSource Wealth Advisors, Lazard Asset Management, and Bessemer Group. Quadrant Capital Group significantly increased its holding in Forward Air to 969 shares.The stock value currently stands at around $98.32 with a market capitalisation of $2.55bn. The company provides less-than-truckload (LTL), truckload, intermodal and pool distribution services across two segments: Expedited LTL and Intermodal. Its Expedited LTL service offers regional and national LTL hauling, Final Mile deliveries and trucking. Previously analysis brokerages have downgraded their predictions for the company’s stock including Susquehanna which slashed its target price from $138 to $125; Raymond James drop theirs from $128 to $115; and Stifel Nicolaus reduced its prediction from $123 to $116.
One possible reason may lie in the announcement earlier this month that earnings for Q1-2017 were below expectations: sales were up by 5.7% YoY, but profits fell short due scheduling issues with passenger airlines over the Easter period resulting in reduced volumes being moved by air as well as some freight diversion towards sea routes impacted air freight profits sufficiently to pull overall earnings down.On June 13th Shareholders of record on Thursday will be given a dividend of $$0.24 per share – equivalent to a dividend payout ratio of 13.83%.
The post Clearbridge Investments LLC Increases Position in Forward Air Co. and Expects Steady Growth in the Coming Fiscal Year appeared first on Best Stocks.
