Renaissance Technologies LLC Purchases Shares of 211,539 Forward Air Corporation $FWRD

Renaissance Technologies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Forward Air Corporation (NASDAQ:FWRD) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 211,539 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,535,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned approximately 0.67% of Forward Air at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in FWRD. Ancora Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Forward Air by 8.5% during the 3rd quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 1,475,055 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $37,820,000 after acquiring an additional 116,012 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Forward Air by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 949,784 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $23,745,000 after purchasing an additional 19,854 shares in the last quarter. Melqart Asset Management UK Ltd raised its holdings in Forward Air by 122.3% in the 4th quarter. Melqart Asset Management UK Ltd now owns 849,876 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $21,247,000 after purchasing an additional 467,482 shares during the period. Cibc World Market Inc. boosted its position in Forward Air by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 784,731 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $19,618,000 after purchasing an additional 28,693 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in Forward Air by 24.7% during the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 611,316 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $15,002,000 after purchasing an additional 121,190 shares in the last quarter. 97.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Zacks Research upgraded Forward Air from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Forward Air from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Forward Air from $19.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Susquehanna reduced their price objective on shares of Forward Air from $42.00 to $18.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Forward Air from a “sell (e+)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a report on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $22.50.

Forward Air Trading Up 8.7%

Shares of FWRD opened at $19.35 on Friday. Forward Air Corporation has a 52-week low of $7.86 and a 52-week high of $32.00. The stock has a market cap of $611.85 million, a PE ratio of -2.17 and a beta of 1.36. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $13.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $17.98. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.98.

Forward Air (NASDAQ:FWRD) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The transportation company reported ($1.09) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.35) by ($0.74). The business had revenue of $582.05 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $620.23 million. Forward Air had a negative net margin of 11.37% and a negative return on equity of 19.49%. Forward Air’s quarterly revenue was down 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($1.68) earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Forward Air Corporation will post -1.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Forward Air Company Profile

Forward Air Corporation is a leading North American provider of expedited ground transportation and related logistics services, specializing in time-sensitive shipments. The company offers a comprehensive suite of solutions including less-than-truckload (LTL) expedited freight, consolidation and distribution services, container drayage, and final-mile delivery. By integrating transportation management with warehousing, inventory control, and technology-driven tracking, Forward Air supports customers across a variety of industries such as manufacturing, retail, automotive and chemicals.

Founded in 1981 and headquartered in Greeneville, Tennessee, Forward Air has developed a broad network of service centers, terminals and rail ramps throughout the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico.