Forward Air (FWRD) Competitors

Air Transport Services Group (NASDAQ:ATSG) and Forward Air (NASDAQ:FWRD) are both small-cap transportation companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, profitability, media sentiment, risk, valuation, community ranking, dividends and earnings.

Do analysts prefer ATSG or FWRD?

Air Transport Services Group currently has a consensus target price of $20.60, suggesting a potential downside of 7.79%. Forward Air has a consensus target price of $37.00, suggesting a potential upside of 76.95%. Given Forward Air's higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Forward Air is more favorable than Air Transport Services Group.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Air Transport Services Group	0 Sell rating(s)	3 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.40
Forward Air	0 Sell rating(s)	4 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.20

Which has higher valuation & earnings, ATSG or FWRD?

Forward Air has higher revenue and earnings than Air Transport Services Group. Forward Air is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Air Transport Services Group, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Air Transport Services Group	$1.96B	0.75	$60.33M	$0.40	55.85
Forward Air	$2.47B	0.24	$167.35M	-$29.00	-0.72

Is ATSG or FWRD more profitable?

Air Transport Services Group has a net margin of -0.12% compared to Forward Air's net margin of -31.14%. Air Transport Services Group's return on equity of 3.12% beat Forward Air's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Air Transport Services Group	-0.12%	3.12%	1.14%
Forward Air	-31.14%	-98.80%	-21.16%

Which has more risk & volatility, ATSG or FWRD?

Air Transport Services Group has a beta of 0.79, meaning that its stock price is 21% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Forward Air has a beta of 1.08, meaning that its stock price is 8% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Does the media favor ATSG or FWRD?

In the previous week, Forward Air had 3 more articles in the media than Air Transport Services Group. MarketBeat recorded 9 mentions for Forward Air and 6 mentions for Air Transport Services Group. Air Transport Services Group's average media sentiment score of 1.34 beat Forward Air's score of 1.26 indicating that Air Transport Services Group is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Air Transport Services Group	4 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Forward Air	6 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Do institutionals & insiders hold more shares of ATSG or FWRD?

91.8% of Air Transport Services Group shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 97.0% of Forward Air shares are held by institutional investors. 3.3% of Air Transport Services Group shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 4.7% of Forward Air shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Does the MarketBeat Community prefer ATSG or FWRD?

Forward Air received 52 more outperform votes than Air Transport Services Group when rated by MarketBeat users. Likewise, 53.72% of users gave Forward Air an outperform vote while only 51.38% of users gave Air Transport Services Group an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
Air Transport Services Group	Outperform Votes 280 51.38%	Underperform Votes 265 48.62%
Forward Air	Outperform Votes 332 53.72%	Underperform Votes 286 46.28%

Summary

Forward Air beats Air Transport Services Group on 10 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.