Forward Air Corporation $FWRD Stock Position Increased by Public Sector Pension Investment Board

Key Points

• The Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its stake in Forward Air Corporation by 27.1% in the first quarter, acquiring an additional 13,523 shares for a total of 63,343 shares valued at approximately $1,273,000.
• Several institutional investors have significantly increased their holdings in Forward Air, with Point72 Asset Management raising its stake by 742.9% during the 4th quarter, now owning 463,600 shares valued at around $14,951,000.
• Despite these investments, Forward Air reported disappointing earnings with a loss of ($0.41) per share in its last quarterly report, missing analyst expectations and showing a 3.9% decline in year-over-year revenue.

Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its position in Forward Air Corporation (NASDAQ:FWRD - Free Report) by 27.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 63,343 shares of the transportation company's stock after acquiring an additional 13,523 shares during the quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board owned 0.21% of Forward Air worth $1,273,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in FWRD. Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Forward Air by 812.5% during the 4th 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 during the period. 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 valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 870 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new position in Forward Air during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $72,000. Aquatic Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Forward Air during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $138,000. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP boosted its position in Forward Air by 9.7% during the 4th quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 6,949 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $224,000 after purchasing an additional 615 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.03% of the company's stock.

Forward Air Stock Performance

Forward Air stock traded up $1.83 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $31.76. 634,024 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 640,494. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $27.94 and a 200 day moving average price of $22.44. 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 market cap of $977.89 million, a PE ratio of -5.30 and a beta of 1.43. Forward Air Corporation has a one year low of $9.78 and a one year high of $40.92.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on FWRD. Wall Street Zen upgraded Forward Air from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, June 21st. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Forward Air from $29.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Susquehanna boosted their price objective on Forward Air from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the company 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 assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $37.75.

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.