Forward Air Corporation $FWRD Stock Position Raised by Jump Financial LLC

Key Points

• Jump Financial LLC significantly increased its holdings in Forward Air Corporation by purchasing 120,123 additional shares, which contributed to a 1,357.6% boost in its investment during the first quarter.
• Forward Air's stock recently opened at $29.93 and reported a market capitalization of $921.54 million, although it has a negative P/E ratio of -5.00 and a history of missing earnings estimates.
• Wall Street analysts have raised their price targets for Forward Air, with Susquehanna setting a new target of $43.00, indicating a positive outlook on the company's stock performance.

Jump Financial LLC raised its position in shares of Forward Air Corporation (NASDAQ:FWRD - Free Report) by 1,357.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 128,971 shares of the transportation company's stock after buying an additional 120,123 shares during the quarter. Jump Financial LLC owned about 0.42% of Forward Air worth $2,591,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Forward Air by 1,194.0% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 46,508 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $934,000 after buying an additional 42,914 shares in the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund raised its stake in Forward Air by 7.8% during the first quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 294,682 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $5,920,000 after buying an additional 21,220 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Forward Air by 2.8% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 99,821 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $2,005,000 after buying an additional 2,673 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new stake in Forward Air during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,242,000. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company MN raised its stake in Forward Air by 10.2% during the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 30,042 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $969,000 after buying an additional 2,773 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.03% of the company's stock.

Forward Air Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FWRD traded down $0.38 on Monday, reaching $30.03. 305,292 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 627,119. Forward Air Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $9.78 and a fifty-two week high of $40.92. The company's 50 day moving average is $28.42 and its 200-day moving average is $22.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $924.62 million, a PE ratio of -5.01 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.91, a current ratio of 1.20 and a quick ratio of 1.20.

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. As a group, analysts anticipate that Forward Air Corporation will post -0.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FWRD has been the subject of a number of research reports. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Forward Air from $29.00 to $33.00 and gave the company 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 note on Saturday, June 21st. Finally, Susquehanna lifted their target price on Forward Air from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Forward Air currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $37.75.

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.