Quantbot Technologies LP Grows Stake in Forward Air Co. (NASDAQ:FWRD)

Quantbot Technologies LP raised its position in shares of Forward Air Co. (NASDAQ:FWRD) by 66.0% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 38,114 shares of the transportation company’s stock after acquiring an additional 15,158 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP’s holdings in Forward Air were worth $1,229,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in FWRD. Intech Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Forward Air by 260.5% during the fourth quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 44,476 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,434,000 after buying an additional 32,139 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its position in Forward Air by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 15,442 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $498,000 after purchasing an additional 432 shares during the period. Isthmus Partners LLC increased its position in Forward Air by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Isthmus Partners LLC now owns 56,995 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,838,000 after purchasing an additional 940 shares during the period. Essex Investment Management Co. LLC bought a new stake in shares of Forward Air in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,487,000. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC lifted its position in shares of Forward Air by 155.9% in the 4th quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 2,925 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $94,000 after purchasing an additional 1,782 shares during the period. 97.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on FWRD. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Forward Air from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Benchmark reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Forward Air in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on Forward Air from $32.00 to $28.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. 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, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $37.00.

Forward Air Price Performance

Shares of FWRD opened at $20.91 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $27.49 and a two-hundred day moving average of $32.14. The company has a quick ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.07. Forward Air Co. has a twelve month low of $11.21 and a twelve month high of $40.92. The company has a market cap of $605.43 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.88 and a beta of 1.08.

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.