Forward Air Co. (NASDAQ:FWRD) Receives Consensus Rating of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of Forward Air Co. (NASDAQ:FWRD) have earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the five research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $35.67.

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Forward Air from $31.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. StockNews.com raised shares of Forward Air to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Benchmark reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Forward Air in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $47.00 price target on Forward Air and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th.

Forward Air Stock Up 6.6 %

Forward Air stock opened at $34.36 on Thursday. Forward Air has a 12 month low of $11.21 and a 12 month high of $61.42. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $33.51 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $31.43. 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 firm has a market cap of $994.86 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.44 and a beta of 1.04.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Forward Air

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in Forward Air by 688.6% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 326,921 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $11,573,000 after buying an additional 285,465 shares in the last quarter. Goldentree Asset Management LP bought a new position in shares of Forward Air during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $14,270,000. Verition Fund Management LLC increased its holdings in Forward Air by 1,481.6% in the 3rd quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 208,396 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $7,377,000 after acquiring an additional 195,220 shares in the last quarter. Weiss Asset Management LP raised its stake in Forward Air by 73.0% during the 3rd quarter. Weiss Asset Management LP now owns 78,803 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,790,000 after acquiring an additional 33,261 shares during the period. Finally, Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. purchased a new position in Forward Air during the third quarter valued at approximately $3,866,000. 97.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Forward Air

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.