285,203 Shares in Forward Air Co. (NASDAQ:FWRD) Purchased by Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C.

Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. bought a new position in shares of Forward Air Co. (NASDAQ:FWRD - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 285,203 shares of the transportation company's stock, valued at approximately $9,198,000. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. owned 0.99% of Forward Air as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new position in Forward Air in the fourth quarter worth $11,140,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Forward Air by 688.6% in the 3rd 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 last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC bought a new position in Forward Air during the fourth quarter valued at about $6,290,000. Icon Advisers Inc. Co. purchased a new stake in Forward Air during the fourth quarter worth about $4,128,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in 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 valued at $24,376,000 after acquiring an additional 79,960 shares during the last quarter. 97.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Forward Air Trading Up 5.5 %

Shares of FWRD traded up $0.93 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $17.72. The company had a trading volume of 1,197,017 shares, compared to its average volume of 886,053. The firm has a market cap of $538.85 million, a P/E ratio of -0.74 and a beta of 1.24. Forward Air Co. has a 52-week low of $9.79 and a 52-week high of $40.92. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $17.72 and its 200 day moving average price is $27.94. The company has a quick ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.07.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on FWRD. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on Forward Air from $32.00 to $28.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of Forward Air from $29.00 to $22.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Benchmark reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Forward Air in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Susquehanna dropped their price objective on Forward Air from $35.00 to $32.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $32.25.

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.