Littlejohn & Co. LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Forward Air Corporation $FWRD

Littlejohn & Co. LLC cut its position in Forward Air Corporation (NASDAQ:FWRD) by 69.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 733,261 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 1,693,098 shares during the quarter. Forward Air accounts for about 11.6% of Littlejohn & Co. LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest holding. Littlejohn & Co. LLC’s holdings in Forward Air were worth $12,253,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Melqart Asset Management UK Ltd boosted its position in shares of Forward Air by 122.3% during the 4th quarter. Melqart Asset Management UK Ltd now owns 849,876 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $21,247,000 after acquiring an additional 467,482 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada raised its position in Forward Air by 1,179.7% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 321,092 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $6,451,000 after purchasing an additional 296,001 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG raised its position in Forward Air by 780.4% during the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 281,800 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $7,045,000 after purchasing an additional 249,791 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in Forward Air by 105.8% during the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 404,706 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $10,118,000 after purchasing an additional 208,096 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Forward Air by 108.7% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 318,858 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $5,328,000 after purchasing an additional 166,084 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.03% of the company’s stock.

Forward Air Stock Performance

NASDAQ FWRD opened at $15.48 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $12.21 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $18.82. The stock has a market cap of $489.48 million, a PE ratio of -5.28 and a beta of 1.36. Forward Air Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $7.86 and a fifty-two week high of $32.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.98, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 1.23.

Forward Air (NASDAQ:FWRD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The transportation company reported ($1.09) earnings per share (EPS) 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 company had revenue of $582.05 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $620.23 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted ($1.68) earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Forward Air Corporation will post -1.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FWRD has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus set a $19.00 price target on Forward Air in a report on Tuesday. Susquehanna reduced their price objective on Forward Air from $42.00 to $18.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Forward Air in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Forward Air from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $18.50.

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.