Raymond James Financial Inc. Takes $320,000 Position in Forward Air Co. (NASDAQ:FWRD)

Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Forward Air Co. (NASDAQ:FWRD) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 9,926 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $320,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in FWRD. Quantinno Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Forward Air during the 3rd quarter worth $224,000. XTX Topco Ltd raised its position in Forward Air by 22.0% during the 3rd quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 19,549 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $692,000 after buying an additional 3,520 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. purchased a new stake in Forward Air in the third quarter valued at $325,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in Forward Air by 688.6% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 326,921 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $11,573,000 after acquiring an additional 285,465 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new stake in Forward Air during the fourth quarter valued at $11,140,000. 97.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FWRD has been the subject of several research reports. Benchmark reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Forward Air in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Susquehanna decreased their target price on Forward Air from $35.00 to $32.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 31st. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Forward Air from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on Forward Air from $32.00 to $28.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $35.75.

Forward Air Price Performance

Shares of FWRD opened at $13.85 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $421.08 million, a PE ratio of -0.58 and a beta of 1.11. Forward Air Co. has a twelve month low of $9.79 and a twelve month high of $40.92. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $22.99 and its two-hundred day moving average is $30.49. The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.07.

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.