Forward Air Co. (NASDAQ:FWRD) Stock Holdings Boosted by Arizona State Retirement System

Posted by Defense World Staff on May 16th, 2023

Arizona State Retirement System raised its position in shares of Forward Air Co. (NASDAQ:FWRD – Get Rating) by 3.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 7,576 shares of the transportation company’s stock after purchasing an additional 276 shares during the quarter. Arizona State Retirement System’s holdings in Forward Air were worth $795,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of FWRD. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Forward Air by 12.3% during the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 5,836 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $570,000 after acquiring an additional 640 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE lifted its holdings in shares of Forward Air by 3.9% in the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 5,053 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $495,000 after purchasing an additional 192 shares in the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Forward Air by 7.7% in the first quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 24,107 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,357,000 after purchasing an additional 1,730 shares in the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Forward Air by 55.8% during the first quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 13,970 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,366,000 after acquiring an additional 5,003 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers raised its holdings in shares of Forward Air by 5.7% during the first quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 68,402 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $6,688,000 after acquiring an additional 3,715 shares in the last quarter. 99.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Forward Air Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ:FWRD opened at $96.58 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $2.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.92 and a beta of 1.13. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $104.24 and its 200-day moving average is $105.69. Forward Air Co. has a 52-week low of $84.04 and a 52-week high of $117.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 1.80 and a current ratio of 1.56.

Forward Air (NASDAQ:FWRD – Get Rating) last released its earnings results on Monday, May 1st. The transportation company reported $1.37 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.30 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $427.07 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $460.54 million. Forward Air had a return on equity of 27.50% and a net margin of 9.66%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.57 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Forward Air Co. will post 6.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Forward Air Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 25th will be paid a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.99%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 24th. Forward Air’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.83%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Laurie Anne Tucker bought 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 15th. The stock was bought at an average price of $101.97 per share, for a total transaction of $407,880.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 10,221 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,042,235.37. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on FWRD shares. Susquehanna cut their price objective on Forward Air from $138.00 to $125.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 3rd. Raymond James cut their target price on Forward Air from $128.00 to $115.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 3rd. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $125.00 target price on shares of Forward Air in a report on Wednesday, March 8th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on Forward Air from $123.00 to $116.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 10th. Finally, StockNews.com initiated coverage on Forward Air in a report on Thursday, March 16th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $118.20.

Forward Air Profile

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Forward Air Corp. engages in the provision of less-than-truckload (LTL), truckload, intermodal and pool distribution services. It operates through the following segments: Expedited LTL and Intermodal. The Expedited LTL segment provides expedited regional, inter-regional and national LTL, final mile and truckload services.