Forward Air Co. (NASDAQ:FWRD) Shares Bought by Verition Fund Management LLC

Verition Fund Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Forward Air Co. (NASDAQ:FWRD) by 1,481.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 208,396 shares of the transportation company’s stock after buying an additional 195,220 shares during the quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC owned 0.72% of Forward Air worth $7,377,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in FWRD. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Forward Air by 14.2% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,407,797 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $106,017,000 after purchasing an additional 424,924 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in Forward Air by 35.8% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 20,604 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $641,000 after acquiring an additional 5,427 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC grew its position in Forward Air by 103.9% in the 1st quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 21,347 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $664,000 after acquiring an additional 10,877 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Forward Air by 2,329.3% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,992 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 1,910 shares during the period. Finally, Ridgemont Partners Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Forward Air by 172.7% during the second quarter. Ridgemont Partners Management LLC now owns 1,910,615 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $36,378,000 after purchasing an additional 1,210,006 shares in the last quarter. 97.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on FWRD shares. Benchmark restated a “hold” rating on shares of Forward Air in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Forward Air from $17.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Forward Air from $31.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Jefferies Financial Group set a $47.00 price objective on Forward Air and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Forward Air to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $39.25.

Forward Air Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FWRD opened at $36.69 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.07, a current ratio of 1.21 and a quick ratio of 1.21. Forward Air Co. has a 12 month low of $11.21 and a 12 month high of $67.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.06 billion, a P/E ratio of -1.54 and a beta of 1.02. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $36.16 and its 200 day moving average price is $28.27.

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.