Forward Air (NASDAQ:FWRD) Stock Jumps 6.6% – Time to Buy?

Forward Air Corporation (NASDAQ:FWRD) traded up 6.6% during mid-day trading on Thursday. The company traded as high as $16.30 and last traded at $16.38. Approximately 220,768 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 75% from the average session volume of 871,075 shares. The stock had previously closed at $15.37.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on FWRD. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Forward Air from $27.00 to $24.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Forward Air from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 3rd. Weiss Ratings raised Forward Air from a “sell (e+)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Forward Air from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. Finally, Susquehanna cut their target price on Forward Air from $29.00 to $25.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 2nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $24.50.

Forward Air Stock Up 6.8%

The company has a market cap of $519.04 million, a PE ratio of -1.84 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a fifty day moving average of $16.62 and a two-hundred day moving average of $15.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.98, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a current ratio of 1.32.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Forward Air

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC bought a new position in Forward Air in the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Forward Air by 2.2% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 108,143 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,807,000 after buying an additional 2,302 shares in the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP lifted its stake in Forward Air by 25.0% in the first quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 20,758 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $347,000 after acquiring an additional 4,155 shares during the last quarter. Allied Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Forward Air in the 2nd quarter valued at about $57,000. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp increased its stake in shares of Forward Air by 2,397.7% during the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 5,495 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $92,000 after purchasing an additional 5,275 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.03% of the company’s stock.

About Forward Air

Forward Air Corporation (NASDAQ: FWRD) is a transportation and logistics company that provides time-definite, less-than-truckload and other supply chain services. Its offerings include expedited ground transportation, intermodal drayage, truckload services, final-mile delivery, pool distribution and freight forwarding.

The company serves a range of industries, including aviation, automotive, healthcare, retail and manufacturing. Forward Air’s network is focused primarily on North America, with international logistics capabilities provided through its global forwarding operations.

Founded in 1981, Forward Air has historically operated an asset-light transportation model that emphasizes the movement of shipments between key distribution centers and transportation hubs.