Forward Air (NASDAQ:FWRD) Raised to “Buy” at Stifel Nicolaus

Forward Air (NASDAQ:FWRD) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Stifel Nicolaus from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued on Thursday,Finviz reports. The firm presently has a $29.00 price target on the transportation company’s stock. Stifel Nicolaus’ price objective suggests a potential upside of 29.12% from the stock’s previous close.

FWRD has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Forward Air from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 21st. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on Forward Air from $32.00 to $28.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Susquehanna reduced their price objective on Forward Air from $35.00 to $32.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $34.00.

Forward Air Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of Forward Air stock opened at $22.46 on Thursday. Forward Air has a 12-month low of $9.79 and a 12-month high of $40.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $683.23 million, a P/E ratio of -0.77 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $18.12 and a 200 day simple moving average of $23.61. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.55.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Forward Air by 812.5% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 803 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 715 shares during the last quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC increased its position in Forward Air by 81.3% in the first quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC now owns 1,940 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 870 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new stake in Forward Air in the fourth quarter worth about $72,000. AlphaQuest LLC raised its holdings in Forward Air by 155.9% during the 4th quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 2,925 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $94,000 after purchasing an additional 1,782 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Aquatic Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Forward Air during the 4th quarter valued at about $138,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.03% of the company’s stock.

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.