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

Forward Air Co. (NASDAQ:FWRD)’s stock price shot up 7% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $34.49 and last traded at $34.47. 318,985 shares changed 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 issued reports on FWRD. Benchmark reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Forward Air in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $47.00 price target on shares of Forward Air and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Forward Air from $31.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of 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 issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Forward Air has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $35.67.

Forward Air Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization 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 has a 50-day moving average of $33.48 and a 200-day moving average of $31.64.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Forward Air by 62.2% during the 3rd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,990 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $70,000 after acquiring an additional 763 shares during the period. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new stake in Forward Air during the 3rd quarter worth about $39,000. Creative Planning grew its holdings in Forward Air by 6.0% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 19,885 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $704,000 after acquiring an additional 1,129 shares during the period. Point72 DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in Forward Air during the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in Forward Air by 3.3% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 45,734 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $871,000 after acquiring an additional 1,478 shares during the period. 97.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.