Intech Investment Management LLC Acquires 32,139 Shares of Forward Air Co. (NASDAQ:FWRD)

Intech Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Forward Air Co. (NASDAQ:FWRD) by 260.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 44,476 shares of the transportation company’s stock after purchasing an additional 32,139 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC owned 0.15% of Forward Air worth $1,434,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of FWRD. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Forward Air by 11.8% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 755,843 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $24,376,000 after acquiring an additional 79,960 shares during the period. Goldentree Asset Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Forward Air in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $14,270,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new stake in shares of Forward Air in the 4th quarter valued at $11,140,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of Forward Air by 688.6% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 326,921 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $11,573,000 after buying an additional 285,465 shares during the period. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund raised its stake in Forward Air by 17.2% during the fourth quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 273,462 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $8,819,000 after buying an additional 40,176 shares during the last quarter. 97.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Forward Air Price Performance

FWRD stock opened at $21.25 on Friday. 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’s 50-day moving average is $28.01 and its 200-day moving average is $32.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $615.27 million, a PE ratio of -0.89 and a beta of 1.08. Forward Air Co. has a 1 year low of $11.21 and a 1 year high of $40.92.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on FWRD. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Forward Air from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Benchmark reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Forward Air in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on Forward Air from $32.00 to $28.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Forward Air presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $37.00.

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.