Forward Air (NASDAQ:FWRD) Rating Increased to Buy at Stifel Nicolaus

Stifel Nicolaus upgraded shares of Forward Air (NASDAQ:FWRD) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Thursday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Stifel Nicolaus currently has $29.00 price objective on the transportation company’s stock, up from their prior price objective of $21.00.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Susquehanna decreased their target price on Forward Air from $35.00 to $32.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Forward Air from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 21st. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on Forward Air from $32.00 to $28.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $34.00.

Forward Air Trading Up 8.0%

Forward Air stock opened at $24.26 on Thursday. Forward Air has a one year low of $9.79 and a one year high of $40.92. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $18.29 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $23.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.55, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 1.13. The company has a market capitalization of $737.99 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.84 and a beta of 1.29.

Institutional Trading of Forward Air

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Forward Air by 7.3% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 97,148 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $3,133,000 after purchasing an additional 6,629 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Forward Air during the fourth quarter worth about $815,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Forward Air by 11.8% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 755,843 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $24,376,000 after buying an additional 79,960 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Forward Air during the fourth quarter valued at about $320,000. Finally, Amundi raised its holdings in Forward Air by 149.0% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 9,257 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $296,000 after acquiring an additional 5,540 shares in the last quarter. 97.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.