Littlejohn & Co. LLC Sells 326,100 Shares of Forward Air Corporation $FWRD

Littlejohn & Co. LLC trimmed its position in Forward Air Corporation (NASDAQ:FWRD) by 11.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,426,359 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 326,100 shares during the quarter. Forward Air makes up 31.6% of Littlejohn & Co. LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its largest position. Littlejohn & Co. LLC owned approximately 0.08% of Forward Air worth $60,659,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of FWRD. Melqart Asset Management UK Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Forward Air in the 3rd quarter valued at $9,805,000. Allianz Asset Management GmbH acquired a new stake in Forward Air during the 3rd quarter worth $8,295,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Forward Air by 15.1% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,353,608 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $60,347,000 after acquiring an additional 307,906 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada raised its stake in 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 worth $6,451,000 after acquiring an additional 296,001 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rothschild Investment LLC raised its stake in Forward Air by 337,481.3% during the 3rd quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 270,065 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $6,924,000 after acquiring an additional 269,985 shares in the last quarter. 97.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Forward Air Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FWRD opened at $10.36 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $15.30 and its 200 day moving average price is $21.41. Forward Air Corporation has a 12 month low of $7.86 and a 12 month high of $32.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.98, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 1.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $327.58 million, a P/E ratio of -3.54 and a beta of 1.41.

Forward Air (NASDAQ:FWRD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The transportation company reported ($1.09) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.35) by ($0.74). Forward Air had a negative return on equity of 41.21% and a negative net margin of 3.71%.The business had revenue of $582.05 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $620.23 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($1.68) earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Forward Air Corporation will post -1.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on FWRD shares. Stifel Nicolaus set a $17.00 price target on shares of Forward Air in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Susquehanna cut their price target on shares of Forward Air from $42.00 to $18.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Forward Air in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $17.50.

Forward Air Company 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.