Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Reduces Holdings in Forward Air Co. (NASDAQ:FWRD)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP cut its position in Forward Air Co. (NASDAQ:FWRD) by 66.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 228,578 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 457,682 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP’s holdings in Forward Air were worth $4,352,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ridgemont Partners Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Forward Air by 172.7% during the second quarter. Ridgemont Partners Management LLC now owns 1,910,615 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $36,378,000 after acquiring an additional 1,210,006 shares in the last quarter. Private Management Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Forward Air during the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,007,000. Federated Hermes Inc. raised its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 597,120 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Forward Air by 14.2% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,407,797 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $106,017,000 after buying an additional 424,924 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Paralel Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Forward Air by 47.1% during the second quarter. Paralel Advisors LLC now owns 750,000 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $14,280,000 after buying an additional 240,000 shares in the last quarter. 97.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Forward Air Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FWRD opened at $36.08 on Thursday. Forward Air Co. has a 52-week low of $11.21 and a 52-week high of $79.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $953.88 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.55 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a quick ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.70. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $31.83 and its 200 day simple moving average is $25.19.

Forward Air (NASDAQ:FWRD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The transportation company reported ($23.29) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.18) by ($23.11). The firm had revenue of $643.67 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $642.92 million. Forward Air had a negative net margin of 30.77% and a negative return on equity of 79.11%. The firm’s revenue was up 92.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.91 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Forward Air Co. will post -1.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FWRD has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Forward Air from $17.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Benchmark reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Forward Air in a report on Monday, August 12th. One equities research 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 MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $51.00.

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.