Forward Air (NASDAQ:FWRD) Shares Up 7% - Should You Buy?

Forward Air Co. (NASDAQ:FWRD - Get Free Report)'s share price shot up 7% on Monday . The company traded as high as $34.49 and last traded at $34.47. 318,985 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 28% from the average session volume of 444,536 shares. The stock had previously closed at $32.23.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on FWRD. StockNews.com upgraded Forward Air to a "sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $47.00 target price on Forward Air and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Benchmark restated a "hold" rating on shares of Forward Air in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Forward Air from $31.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $35.67.

Forward Air Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $972.85 million, a P/E ratio of -1.41 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.07. The company's 50-day moving average is $33.48 and its two-hundred day moving average is $31.64.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Forward Air

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Clearlake Capital Group L.P. lifted its position in 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. MFN Partners Management LP bought a new position in Forward Air in the 2nd quarter valued at about $17,208,000. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its position in Forward Air by 712.5% in the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 680,929 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $12,965,000 after acquiring an additional 597,120 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Forward Air by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 675,883 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $23,926,000 after acquiring an additional 28,669 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldentree Asset Management LP bought a new position in Forward Air in the 3rd quarter valued at about $14,270,000. Institutional investors own 97.03% of the company's stock.

Forward Air Company 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.

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