Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Boosts Stock Holdings in Forward Air Corporation $FWRD

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Forward Air Corporation (NASDAQ:FWRD) by 8.0% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 415,227 shares of the transportation company’s stock after purchasing an additional 30,593 shares during the quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Forward Air were worth $10,646,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its holdings in Forward Air by 1,179.7% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 321,092 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $6,451,000 after acquiring an additional 296,001 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Forward Air by 7.0% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 10,009 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $201,000 after purchasing an additional 654 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its position in Forward Air by 4.4% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 14,875 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $299,000 after purchasing an additional 624 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Forward Air by 64.2% during the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 73,040 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,467,000 after purchasing an additional 28,564 shares during the period. Finally, Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey boosted its stake in shares of Forward Air by 12.3% during the second quarter. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey now owns 5,725 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $140,000 after purchasing an additional 629 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.03% of the company’s stock.

Forward Air Trading Up 0.4%

NASDAQ FWRD opened at $22.03 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $688.44 million, a P/E ratio of -6.26 and a beta of 1.33. Forward Air Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $9.78 and a fifty-two week high of $32.47. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $26.97 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $25.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.58, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a current ratio of 1.22.

Forward Air (NASDAQ:FWRD) last posted its earnings results on Monday, February 23rd. The transportation company reported ($0.28) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.27) by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $631.23 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $629.60 million. Forward Air had a negative net margin of 4.32% and a negative return on equity of 42.67%. Forward Air’s quarterly revenue was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted ($1.23) earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Forward Air Corporation will post -0.72 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on FWRD shares. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Forward Air from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Forward Air in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Susquehanna reissued a “positive” rating and set a $42.00 price target on shares of Forward Air in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Forward Air from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $37.00.

Forward Air Company 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.