Forward Air (NASDAQ:FWRD) Shares Gap Down – Time to Sell?

Forward Air Co. (NASDAQ:FWRD) shares gapped down before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $20.51, but opened at $19.39. Forward Air shares last traded at $20.67, with a volume of 55,627 shares.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on FWRD. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on Forward Air from $32.00 to $28.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Forward Air from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Benchmark reaffirmed 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 assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $37.00.

Forward Air Trading Up 5.5 %

The company has a market capitalization of $626.28 million, a P/E ratio of -0.90 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $28.66 and a 200 day simple moving average of $32.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.07, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a current ratio of 1.21.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Forward Air

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of FWRD. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Forward Air by 148.0% during the 4th quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 285,670 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $9,213,000 after purchasing an additional 170,503 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new stake in Forward Air during the fourth quarter worth about $72,000. Two Sigma Investments LP increased its stake in Forward Air by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 120,272 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $3,879,000 after acquiring an additional 2,339 shares during the period. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new position in Forward Air in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $315,000. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. lifted its position in shares of Forward Air by 742.9% in the 4th quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 463,600 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $14,951,000 after acquiring an additional 408,600 shares during the period. 97.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.