Back to top

Image: Bigstock

Bear of the Day: Forward Air Corp (FWRD)

Read MoreHide Full Article

Forward Air Corp (FWRD - Free Report) is a high-service level truckload carrier and contractor to the air cargo industry. The company provides scheduled trucking services to air freight forwarders, fully integrated air cargo carriers and domestic and international airlines through its Forward Air operations. The stock is the Bear of the Day after it recently became a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell).

Forward has a market cap of $1.5 billion with a forward PE of 23. The company is based in Greenville, Tennessee and has over 3400 employees. The stock sports a Zacks Style Score of “A” in Growth, but “C” in Value. 

The value score is an issue for some investors, especially after the stock has run up 20% since the election.  It doesn’t help that the company sits in an industry ranked 239 out of 265 (Bottom 10%) of the Zacks Industry Rank.

Q3 Earnings

Earnings weren’t terrible when the company reported on October 20th. However, the guidance for Q4 was light as the company guided Q4 $0.53-0.57 versus the $0.63 expected.

CEO Bruce Campbell had some comments on the quarter and the “sluggish environment:

“Our third quarter results were in line with our revised guidance and reflected the impact of a sluggish economic environment. The Expedited LTL team did a good job managing costs and preserving margin despite soft volumes, which improved towards the end of the quarter. Expedited Truckload Services continued to grow its revenue, but it faced margin pressure due to loose truckload capacity. Our Intermodal group delivered solid revenue and operating income in a very challenging import market, while our Pool Distribution segment posted a slight revenue gain as it ramped up its recent new business wins.”

The stock saw little reaction, but the weeks that followed since the election cause a surge in shares. Investors should consider getting out now, before next quarter is reported. Revision are falling, which generally doesn’t bode well for the next EPS report.

Estimates Revisions

Forward has seen estimates fall over the last three months, a sign that the growth aspect of the business isn’t as strong as some are hoping for. For the current year estimates have fallen 16.5% from $2.30 to $2.05. For fiscal year 2017, estimates have been taken down 13.5% to $2.63 from $2.32.

Note: Want more articles from this author? Scroll up to the top of this article and click the FOLLOW AUTHOR button to get an email each time a new article is published.

So Where Are the Profitable Trades?

Be sure to short or avoid this Bear Stock of the Day. Now would you like to see Zacks' recommendations that have the best profit potential? Starting today, for the next month, you can follow all our private buys and sells in real time from value to momentum . . . from stocks under $10 to ETF and option moves . . . from insider trades to companies that are about to report positive earnings surprises (we've called them with 80%+ accuracy). You can even look inside portfolios so exclusive that they are normally closed to new investors. Click here for all Zacks trades >>

 

 

 

 

 


See More Zacks Research for These Tickers


Normally $25 each - click below to receive one report FREE:


Forward Air Corporation (FWRD) - free report >>