SG Americas Securities LLC Buys 34,303 Shares of Forward Air Corporation $FWRD

SG Americas Securities LLC grew its stake in shares of Forward Air Corporation (NASDAQ:FWRD) by 236.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 48,812 shares of the transportation company’s stock after buying an additional 34,303 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC owned 0.16% of Forward Air worth $1,220,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Royal Bank of Canada increased its position in Forward Air by 1,179.7% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 321,092 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $6,451,000 after purchasing an additional 296,001 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in Forward Air by 7.0% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 10,009 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $201,000 after purchasing an additional 654 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its position in Forward Air by 4.4% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 14,875 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $299,000 after purchasing an additional 624 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC increased its position in Forward Air by 64.2% in the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 73,040 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,467,000 after purchasing an additional 28,564 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc increased its position in Forward Air by 8.2% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 58,385 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,433,000 after purchasing an additional 4,436 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.03% of the company’s stock.

Forward Air Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FWRD opened at $17.47 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $551.18 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.96 and a beta of 1.46. Forward Air Corporation has a 12 month low of $9.78 and a 12 month high of $32.47. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $22.68 and its 200-day simple moving average is $23.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.58, a current ratio of 1.22 and a quick ratio of 1.22.

Forward Air (NASDAQ:FWRD) last announced its earnings results on Monday, February 23rd. The transportation company reported ($0.28) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.27) by ($0.01). Forward Air had a negative net margin of 4.32% and a negative return on equity of 42.67%. The business had revenue of $631.23 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $629.60 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned ($1.23) EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Forward Air Corporation will post -0.72 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on FWRD. Susquehanna restated a “positive” rating and set a $42.00 price objective on shares of Forward Air in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Forward Air from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Forward Air from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Forward Air in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $37.00.

About Forward Air

Forward Air Corporation is a leading North American provider of expedited ground transportation and related logistics services, specializing in time-sensitive shipments. The company offers a comprehensive suite of solutions including less-than-truckload (LTL) expedited freight, consolidation and distribution services, container drayage, and final-mile delivery. By integrating transportation management with warehousing, inventory control, and technology-driven tracking, Forward Air supports customers across a variety of industries such as manufacturing, retail, automotive and chemicals.

Founded in 1981 and headquartered in Greeneville, Tennessee, Forward Air has developed a broad network of service centers, terminals and rail ramps throughout the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico.