382,394 Shares in Forward Air Corporation $FWRD Purchased by Melqart Asset Management UK Ltd

Melqart Asset Management UK Ltd purchased a new position in Forward Air Corporation (NASDAQ:FWRD) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 382,394 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,805,000. Forward Air makes up 1.3% of Melqart Asset Management UK Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. Melqart Asset Management UK Ltd owned about 1.22% of Forward Air as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of FWRD. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its position in shares of Forward Air by 1,179.7% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 321,092 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $6,451,000 after acquiring an additional 296,001 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Forward Air by 7.0% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 10,009 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $201,000 after acquiring an additional 654 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Forward Air by 4.4% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 14,875 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $299,000 after acquiring an additional 624 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Forward Air by 64.2% during the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 73,040 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,467,000 after purchasing an additional 28,564 shares during the period. Finally, Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey raised its position in shares of Forward Air by 12.3% during the second quarter. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey now owns 5,725 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $140,000 after purchasing an additional 629 shares during the period. 97.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on FWRD. Zacks Research downgraded Forward Air from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Forward Air in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Forward Air from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Susquehanna restated a “positive” rating and issued a $42.00 price target on shares of Forward Air in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $37.00.

Forward Air Stock Down 4.6%

Shares of Forward Air stock opened at $15.80 on Friday. Forward Air Corporation has a 1 year low of $9.78 and a 1 year high of $32.47. The company has a market cap of $493.75 million, a P/E ratio of -4.49 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a current ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.58. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $26.42 and a 200 day moving average price of $25.05.

Forward Air (NASDAQ:FWRD) last released its earnings results on Monday, February 23rd. The transportation company reported ($0.28) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.27) by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $631.23 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $629.60 million. Forward Air had a negative net margin of 4.32% and a negative return on equity of 42.67%. The company’s revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($1.23) EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Forward Air Corporation will post -0.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Forward Air Profile

Forward Air Corporation is a leading North American provider of expedited ground transportation and related logistics services, specializing in time-sensitive shipments. The company offers a comprehensive suite of solutions including less-than-truckload (LTL) expedited freight, consolidation and distribution services, container drayage, and final-mile delivery. By integrating transportation management with warehousing, inventory control, and technology-driven tracking, Forward Air supports customers across a variety of industries such as manufacturing, retail, automotive and chemicals.

Founded in 1981 and headquartered in Greeneville, Tennessee, Forward Air has developed a broad network of service centers, terminals and rail ramps throughout the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico.