Royce & Associates LP Purchases 106,364 Shares of Forward Air Corporation $FWRD

Royce & Associates LP grew its stake in shares of Forward Air Corporation (NASDAQ:FWRD) by 60.7% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 281,553 shares of the transportation company’s stock after purchasing an additional 106,364 shares during the quarter. Royce & Associates LP’s holdings in Forward Air were worth $7,039,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Rothschild Investment LLC increased its holdings in shares of Forward Air by 337,481.3% during the third quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 270,065 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $6,924,000 after acquiring an additional 269,985 shares in the last quarter. Integrity Financial Corp WA purchased a new position in shares of Forward Air in the third quarter worth $853,000. Allianz Asset Management GmbH purchased a new position in shares of Forward Air in the third quarter worth $8,295,000. Oasis Management Co Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Forward Air in the third quarter worth $4,447,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Forward Air by 15.1% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,353,608 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $60,347,000 after buying an additional 307,906 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.03% of the company’s stock.

Forward Air Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FWRD opened at $10.36 on Friday. Forward Air Corporation has a twelve month low of $7.86 and a twelve month high of $32.47. The company’s 50 day moving average is $15.98 and its 200 day moving average is $21.89. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.98. The company has a market cap of $327.58 million, a PE ratio of -3.54 and a beta of 1.59.

Forward Air (NASDAQ:FWRD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The transportation company reported ($1.09) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.35) by ($0.74). Forward Air had a negative return on equity of 41.21% and a negative net margin of 3.71%.The business had revenue of $582.05 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $620.23 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted ($1.68) EPS. Forward Air’s quarterly revenue was down 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Forward Air Corporation will post -1.08 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Susquehanna decreased their price target on shares of Forward Air from $42.00 to $18.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 8th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $17.00 price target on shares of Forward Air in a report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Forward Air in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Forward Air has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $17.50.

Forward Air Profile

Forward Air Corporation is a leading North American provider of expedited ground transportation and related logistics services, specializing in time-sensitive shipments. The company offers a comprehensive suite of solutions including less-than-truckload (LTL) expedited freight, consolidation and distribution services, container drayage, and final-mile delivery. By integrating transportation management with warehousing, inventory control, and technology-driven tracking, Forward Air supports customers across a variety of industries such as manufacturing, retail, automotive and chemicals.

Founded in 1981 and headquartered in Greeneville, Tennessee, Forward Air has developed a broad network of service centers, terminals and rail ramps throughout the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico.