Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Grows Position in Forward Air Co. (NASDAQ:FWRD)

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Forward Air Co. (NASDAQ:FWRD - Free Report) by 148.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 285,670 shares of the transportation company's stock after buying an additional 170,503 shares during the quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.99% of Forward Air worth $9,213,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Forward Air by 812.5% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 803 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 715 shares in the last quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Forward Air by 122.9% in the fourth quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC now owns 1,070 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 590 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new position in Forward Air in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $72,000. AlphaQuest LLC boosted its holdings in Forward Air by 155.9% in the fourth quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 2,925 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $94,000 after purchasing an additional 1,782 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aquatic Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Forward Air in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $138,000. 97.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on FWRD. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Forward Air from $29.00 to $22.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on Forward Air from $32.00 to $28.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Susquehanna lowered their price target on Forward Air from $35.00 to $32.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $32.25.

Forward Air Stock Performance

Shares of Forward Air stock traded up $0.49 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $17.05. 323,504 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 795,516. Forward Air Co. has a 1 year low of $9.79 and a 1 year high of $40.92. The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.07. The business has a 50-day moving average of $16.57 and a 200-day moving average of $25.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $518.71 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.72 and a beta of 1.24.

Forward Air 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.