Forward Air (NASDAQ:FWRD) Trading 13.4% Higher – What’s Next?

Shares of Forward Air Co. (NASDAQ:FWRD) shot up 13.4% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $19.07 and last traded at $18.50. 90,147 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 90% from the average session volume of 860,860 shares. The stock had previously closed at $16.32.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FWRD has been the topic of several research reports. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on Forward Air from $32.00 to $28.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Forward Air from $29.00 to $22.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Susquehanna reduced their price objective on Forward Air from $35.00 to $32.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Forward Air has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $32.25.

Forward Air Stock Performance

The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $17.10 and a 200-day simple moving average of $27.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.07, a current ratio of 1.21 and a quick ratio of 1.21. The company has a market cap of $579.90 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.80 and a beta of 1.24.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Forward Air

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FWRD. Point72 Asset Management L.P. increased its stake in Forward Air by 742.9% during the fourth 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 last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Forward Air in the fourth quarter valued at $11,140,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of Forward Air by 688.6% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 326,921 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $11,573,000 after buying an additional 285,465 shares in the last quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. acquired a new stake in shares of Forward Air in the fourth quarter valued at $9,198,000. Finally, Brevan Howard Capital Management LP grew its stake in shares of Forward Air by 1,355.0% in the fourth quarter. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP now owns 250,000 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $8,062,000 after buying an additional 232,818 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.03% of the company’s stock.

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.