Atom Investors LP Acquires Shares of 24,442 Forward Air Co. (NASDAQ:FWRD)

Atom Investors LP bought a new position in shares of Forward Air Co. (NASDAQ:FWRD) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 24,442 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $865,000. Atom Investors LP owned about 0.08% of Forward Air at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in FWRD. Clearlake Capital Group L.P. lifted its holdings in Forward Air by 255.2% during the 2nd quarter. Clearlake Capital Group L.P. now owns 3,825,000 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $72,828,000 after buying an additional 2,747,994 shares in the last quarter. Ridgemont Partners Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Forward Air by 172.7% during the second quarter. Ridgemont Partners Management LLC now owns 1,910,615 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $36,378,000 after acquiring an additional 1,210,006 shares in the last quarter. MFN Partners Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Forward Air in the second quarter valued at approximately $17,208,000. Federated Hermes Inc. grew its stake in Forward Air by 712.5% in the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 680,929 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $12,965,000 after purchasing an additional 597,120 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldentree Asset Management LP purchased a new position in Forward Air during the 3rd quarter worth $14,270,000. 97.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on FWRD shares. Jefferies Financial Group set a $47.00 target price on Forward Air and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Benchmark reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Forward Air in a report on Monday, August 12th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted 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. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Forward Air from $17.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Forward Air to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $39.25.

Forward Air Trading Down 4.5 %

NASDAQ FWRD opened at $34.39 on Wednesday. Forward Air Co. has a 52 week low of $11.21 and a 52 week high of $67.20. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $36.09 and a 200 day moving average price of $28.66. The company has a quick ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.07. The firm has a market cap of $995.59 million, a PE ratio of -1.44 and a beta of 1.02.

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.