Forward Air Corporation $FWRD Shares Acquired by Ridgemont Partners Management LLC

Key Points

• Ridgemont Partners Management LLC increased its holdings in Forward Air Corporation by 0.7%, making it the largest stock in its investment portfolio, representing about 6.32% of the company as of its latest SEC filing.
• Forward Air shares were recently rated as "Moderate Buy" with an average target price of $37.75, despite a recent downgrade by Wall Street Zen to "sell" from "hold".
• The company reported negative earnings of ($0.41) per share in its last quarter, falling short of analysts' expectations, with revenue also down 3.9% year-over-year.

Ridgemont Partners Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Forward Air Corporation (NASDAQ:FWRD - Free Report) by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,923,479 shares of the transportation company's stock after buying an additional 12,864 shares during the period. Forward Air makes up about 100.0% of Ridgemont Partners Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its largest holding. Ridgemont Partners Management LLC owned about 6.32% of Forward Air worth $47,202,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Byrne Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Forward Air by 81.3% during the 1st quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC now owns 1,940 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 870 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new stake in Forward Air in the fourth quarter worth about $72,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Forward Air by 34.1% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,105 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $76,000 after purchasing an additional 790 shares during the period. Bfsg LLC lifted its holdings in Forward Air by 15.2% in the second quarter. Bfsg LLC now owns 7,805 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $192,000 after purchasing an additional 1,030 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Forward Air by 7.0% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 10,009 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $201,000 after acquiring an additional 654 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.03% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on FWRD. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Forward Air from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, September 20th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Forward Air from $29.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Susquehanna upped their target price on Forward Air from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $37.75.

Forward Air Trading Down 2.7%

Shares of NASDAQ FWRD opened at $24.95 on Thursday. Forward Air Corporation has a 12 month low of $9.78 and a 12 month high of $40.92. The company has a market cap of $768.21 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.17 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a quick ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.91. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $29.18 and a 200-day simple moving average of $22.98.

Forward Air (NASDAQ:FWRD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 11th. The transportation company reported ($0.41) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.17) by ($0.24). Forward Air had a negative net margin of 6.86% and a negative return on equity of 40.36%. The firm had revenue of $618.84 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $627.98 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($23.29) earnings per share. Forward Air's quarterly revenue was down 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Forward Air Corporation will post -0.72 EPS for the current year.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.