Clearbridge Investments LLC Boosts Holdings in Forward Air Co. (NASDAQ:FWRD)

Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its position in shares of Forward Air Co. (NASDAQ:FWRD) by 0.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 676,018 shares of the transportation company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,648 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC owned approximately 2.63% of Forward Air worth $42,501,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in FWRD. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its position in shares of Forward Air by 15.7% during the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 4,343 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $299,000 after buying an additional 588 shares in the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas boosted its holdings in Forward Air by 3.7% in the third quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 6,964 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $479,000 after purchasing an additional 251 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC boosted its holdings in Forward Air by 306.9% in the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 948 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $65,000 after purchasing an additional 715 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in Forward Air by 15,487.6% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 726,538 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $49,942,000 after purchasing an additional 721,877 shares during the period. Finally, Donoghue Forlines LLC acquired a new position in Forward Air in the third quarter worth $269,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.03% of the company’s stock.

Forward Air Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FWRD opened at $12.25 on Thursday. Forward Air Co. has a fifty-two week low of $11.21 and a fifty-two week high of $121.38. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $23.57 and its 200 day simple moving average is $43.09. The company has a quick ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27. The stock has a market cap of $323.89 million, a P/E ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.06.

Forward Air (NASDAQ:FWRD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 8th. The transportation company reported ($0.64) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.15) by ($0.49). Forward Air had a net margin of 4.08% and a return on equity of 5.37%. The company had revenue of $541.81 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $644.00 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.37 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Forward Air Co. will post -0.46 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Benchmark reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Forward Air in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on shares of Forward Air from $24.00 to $14.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 10th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Forward Air from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, March 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Forward Air presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $76.43.

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.