Prescott Group Capital Management L.L.C. Invests $1.08 Million in Forward Air Corporation $FWRD

Prescott Group Capital Management L.L.C. acquired a new stake in shares of Forward Air Corporation (NASDAQ:FWRD) during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 43,897 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,077,000. Prescott Group Capital Management L.L.C. owned 0.14% of Forward Air at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Caxton Associates LLP bought a new stake in Forward Air in the first quarter valued at about $960,000. New York State Common Retirement Fund lifted its stake in Forward Air by 7.8% during the first quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 294,682 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $5,920,000 after purchasing an additional 21,220 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Forward Air by 2.8% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 99,821 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,005,000 after purchasing an additional 2,673 shares in the last quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. acquired a new stake in Forward Air during the second quarter valued at approximately $371,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Forward Air by 34.1% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,105 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $76,000 after purchasing an additional 790 shares during the period. 97.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Forward Air Price Performance

Shares of FWRD stock opened at $20.91 on Friday. Forward Air Corporation has a 52 week low of $9.78 and a 52 week high of $37.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $643.86 million, a PE ratio of -3.49 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.91, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a current ratio of 1.20. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $24.18 and its 200-day moving average is $23.77.

Forward Air (NASDAQ:FWRD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The transportation company reported ($0.52) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.13) by ($0.39). Forward Air had a negative return on equity of 40.36% and a negative net margin of 6.86%.The company had revenue of $631.76 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $645.45 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($2.62) EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Forward Air Corporation will post -0.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FWRD has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded Forward Air from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 11th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Forward Air in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Forward Air in a research note on Thursday. Susquehanna increased their target price on shares of Forward Air from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Forward Air from $32.00 to $30.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 17th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $33.67.

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.