Forward Air (NASDAQ:FWRD) Shares Gap Down After Analyst Downgrade

Shares of Forward Air Co. (NASDAQ:FWRD) gapped down before the market opened on Thursday after Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on the stock from $32.00 to $28.00. The stock had previously closed at $25.75, but opened at $22.81. Robert W. Baird currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Forward Air shares last traded at $23.72, with a volume of 81,982 shares.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Forward Air from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. StockNews.com raised shares of Forward Air to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Benchmark reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Forward Air in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $37.00.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Forward Air

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of FWRD. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in shares of Forward Air by 688.6% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 326,921 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $11,573,000 after acquiring an additional 285,465 shares during the period. Goldentree Asset Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Forward Air during the 3rd quarter valued at about $14,270,000. Verition Fund Management LLC grew its position in shares of Forward Air by 1,481.6% during the 3rd quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 208,396 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $7,377,000 after acquiring an additional 195,220 shares during the period. Weiss Asset Management LP grew its position in shares of Forward Air by 73.0% during the 3rd quarter. Weiss Asset Management LP now owns 78,803 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,790,000 after acquiring an additional 33,261 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Forward Air during the 4th quarter valued at about $11,140,000. 97.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Forward Air Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $675.12 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.98 and a beta of 1.03. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $31.62 and a 200 day moving average price of $33.46.

Forward Air Company Profile

Forward Air Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an asset-light freight and logistics company in the United States and Canada. It operates in two segments, Expedited Freight and Intermodal. The Expedited Freight segment provides expedited regional, inter-regional, and national less-than-truckload services; local pick-up and delivery services; and other services, which include shipment consolidation and deconsolidation, warehousing, customs brokerage, and other handling.