Forward Air Co. (NASDAQ:FWRD) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

Forward Air Co. (NASDAQ:FWRD) saw a large decrease in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 3,720,000 shares, a decrease of 13.1% from the December 15th total of 4,280,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 621,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 6.0 days. Currently, 18.5% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Forward Air to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Stifel Nicolaus upped 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. Benchmark reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Forward Air in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $47.00 price objective on shares of Forward Air and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Forward Air currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $35.67.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Forward Air

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in Forward Air by 688.6% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Goldentree Asset Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Forward Air in the third quarter valued at about $14,270,000. Verition Fund Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Forward Air by 1,481.6% in the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 208,396 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $7,377,000 after purchasing an additional 195,220 shares in the last quarter. Weiss Asset Management LP boosted its position in shares of Forward Air by 73.0% during the third quarter. Weiss Asset Management LP now owns 78,803 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,790,000 after buying an additional 33,261 shares during the period. Finally, Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. bought a new position in shares of Forward Air during the third quarter worth about $3,866,000. 97.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Forward Air Stock Up 2.5 %

NASDAQ FWRD traded up $0.84 on Friday, reaching $33.89. The company had a trading volume of 445,010 shares, compared to its average volume of 493,638. The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.07. Forward Air has a 52 week low of $11.21 and a 52 week high of $61.42. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $33.29 and its 200-day moving average is $31.85.

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.