AlphaCrest Capital Management LLC Has $691,000 Holdings in Forward Air Co. (NASDAQ:FWRD)

Posted by Defense World Staff on Mar 8th, 2023

AlphaCrest Capital Management LLC decreased its position in Forward Air Co. (NASDAQ:FWRD – Get Rating) by 42.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 7,653 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 5,547 shares during the period. AlphaCrest Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Forward Air were worth $691,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quadrant Capital Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Forward Air by 88.2% in the second quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 382 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 179 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Forward Air by 192.1% in the 3rd quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 406 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 267 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Forward Air in the 3rd quarter valued at about $40,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Forward Air during the first quarter worth approximately $45,000. Finally, Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Forward Air by 32.7% during the second quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 811 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $75,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. 99.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on FWRD. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Forward Air from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 15th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and set a $110.00 price objective on shares of Forward Air in a research report on Wednesday, January 4th. Susquehanna dropped their target price on Forward Air from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 10th. Finally, Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $125.00 price target on shares of Forward Air in a report on Thursday, February 9th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $126.50.

Forward Air Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FWRD opened at $105.96 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.84 and a beta of 1.13. The business has a 50-day moving average of $105.07 and a two-hundred day moving average of $103.26. Forward Air Co. has a fifty-two week low of $84.04 and a fifty-two week high of $117.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 1.80 and a quick ratio of 1.80.

Forward Air (NASDAQ:FWRD – Get Rating) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 9th. The transportation company reported $1.65 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.95 by ($0.30). Forward Air had a return on equity of 29.20% and a net margin of 9.79%. The company had revenue of $481.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $501.18 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.40 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Forward Air Co. will post 6.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Forward Air Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 17th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 2nd will be paid a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 1st. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.91%. Forward Air’s payout ratio is presently 13.45%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Forward Air news, Director Laurie Anne Tucker purchased 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 15th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $101.97 per share, with a total value of $407,880.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 10,221 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,042,235.37. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Forward Air news, Director Laurie Anne Tucker purchased 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 15th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $101.97 per share, for a total transaction of $407,880.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 10,221 shares in the company, valued at $1,042,235.37. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Chris C. Ruble sold 2,823 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.00, for a total value of $302,061.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 27,513 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,943,891. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 7,000 shares of company stock worth $753,135 in the last quarter. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Forward Air

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Forward Air Corp. engages in the provision of less-than-truckload (LTL), truckload, intermodal and pool distribution services. It operates through the following segments: Expedited LTL and Intermodal. The Expedited LTL segment provides expedited regional, inter-regional and national LTL, final mile and truckload services.