Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. Raises Position in Forward Air Corporation $FWRD

Key Points

• Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. increased its stake in Forward Air Corporation by 19.0%, now owning over 339,000 shares worth approximately $6.82 million.
• Forward Air's recent quarterly earnings report showed a loss of ($0.41) per share, missing expectations, with revenue decreasing by 3.9% year-over-year.
• Analysts have shifted their ratings on Forward Air, with three maintaining a "Buy" rating and raising price targets, indicating a "Moderate Buy" consensus for the stock.

Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. boosted its holdings in shares of Forward Air Corporation (NASDAQ:FWRD - Free Report) by 19.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 339,523 shares of the transportation company's stock after buying an additional 54,320 shares during the quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. owned approximately 1.12% of Forward Air worth $6,821,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Byrne Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Forward Air by 81.3% in the 1st quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC now owns 1,940 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 870 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new position in shares of Forward Air in the 4th quarter worth approximately $72,000. Fox Run Management L.L.C. raised its stake in shares of Forward Air by 18.1% during the 1st quarter. Fox Run Management L.L.C. now owns 10,980 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $221,000 after acquiring an additional 1,684 shares in the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP raised its stake in shares of Forward Air by 9.7% during the 4th quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 6,949 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $224,000 after acquiring an additional 615 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Forward Air during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $240,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.03% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on FWRD. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Forward Air from $29.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Forward Air from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, June 21st. Finally, Susquehanna increased their price target on shares of Forward Air from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $37.75.

Forward Air Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FWRD traded down $0.54 during trading on Friday, hitting $29.35. 386,146 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 486,334. 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 company has a fifty day moving average price of $29.31 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $22.41. Forward Air Corporation has a 52-week low of $9.78 and a 52-week high of $40.92. The company has a market cap of $903.69 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.90 and a beta of 1.40.

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

About Forward Air

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.