Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $3.20 Million Stake in Forward Air Co. (NASDAQ:FWRD)

Principal Financial Group Inc. cut its stake in Forward Air Co. (NASDAQ:FWRD - Free Report) by 53.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 90,519 shares of the transportation company's stock after selling 104,355 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.33% of Forward Air worth $3,204,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Clearlake Capital Group L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Forward Air by 255.2% in the 2nd quarter. Clearlake Capital Group L.P. now owns 3,825,000 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $72,828,000 after acquiring an additional 2,747,994 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Forward Air by 14.2% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,407,797 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $106,017,000 after buying an additional 424,924 shares during the last quarter. Ridgemont Partners Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Forward Air by 172.7% in the second quarter. Ridgemont Partners Management LLC now owns 1,910,615 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $36,378,000 after buying an additional 1,210,006 shares in the last quarter. Private Management Group Inc. increased its holdings in Forward Air by 34.1% during the second quarter. Private Management Group Inc. now owns 1,336,687 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $25,451,000 after buying an additional 339,982 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MFN Partners Management LP bought a new stake in Forward Air during the second quarter worth $17,208,000. 97.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Forward Air Price Performance

NASDAQ:FWRD traded up $0.20 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $35.88. The stock had a trading volume of 266,089 shares, compared to its average volume of 992,759. Forward Air Co. has a 12 month low of $11.21 and a 12 month high of $67.20. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $36.16 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $27.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.07, a current ratio of 1.21 and a quick ratio of 1.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.04 billion, a PE ratio of -1.50 and a beta of 1.02.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on FWRD. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Forward Air from $31.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Benchmark reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Forward Air in a report on Monday, August 12th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $47.00 price objective on shares of Forward Air and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Forward Air from $17.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Forward Air to a "sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $39.25.

Forward Air 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.