Forward Air Co. (NASDAQ:FWRD) Stake Increased by Jefferies Financial Group Inc.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. raised its position 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 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 285,670 shares of the transportation company's stock after purchasing an additional 170,503 shares during the quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.99% of Forward Air worth $9,213,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FWRD. Point72 Asset Management L.P. boosted its stake in Forward Air by 742.9% during the 4th quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 463,600 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $14,951,000 after purchasing an additional 408,600 shares in the last quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. acquired a new stake in shares of Forward Air during the 4th quarter valued at $9,198,000. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP lifted its position in shares of Forward Air by 1,355.0% during the 4th quarter. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP now owns 250,000 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $8,062,000 after acquiring an additional 232,818 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Forward Air during the 4th quarter valued at $6,290,000. Finally, Hudson Bay Capital Management LP lifted its position in shares of Forward Air by 149.8% during the 4th quarter. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP now owns 241,423 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $7,786,000 after acquiring an additional 144,764 shares during the last quarter. 97.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Forward Air Stock Down 3.1%

Shares of FWRD traded down $0.53 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $16.52. The company's stock had a trading volume of 473,760 shares, compared to its average volume of 789,895. The business has a fifty day moving average of $16.39 and a 200 day moving average of $25.43. The company has a market cap of $502.59 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.69 and a beta of 1.24. Forward Air Co. has a 1 year low of $9.79 and a 1 year high of $40.92. The company has a quick ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.07.

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.