Forward Air Co. (NASDAQ:FWRD) Short Interest Down 13.1% in December

Forward Air Co. (NASDAQ:FWRD) was the target of a large drop in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 3,720,000 shares, a drop of 13.1% from the December 15th total of 4,280,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 621,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 6.0 days. Currently, 18.5% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FWRD has been the subject of a number of research reports. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Forward Air from $31.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Jefferies Financial Group set a $47.00 price target on Forward Air and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Benchmark reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Forward Air in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Forward Air to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Forward Air has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $35.67.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Inspire Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Forward Air by 9.5% in the 4th quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 12,601 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $406,000 after acquiring an additional 1,088 shares during the period. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Forward Air by 24.4% during the 4th quarter. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC now owns 20,900 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $674,000 after acquiring an additional 4,100 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new position in Forward Air in the 4th quarter worth about $11,140,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Forward Air by 688.6% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 326,921 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $11,573,000 after acquiring an additional 285,465 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Forward Air in the third quarter valued at $325,000. Institutional investors own 97.03% of the company’s stock.

Forward Air Stock Up 2.5 %

Forward Air stock traded up $0.84 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $33.89. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 445,010 shares, compared to its average volume of 493,638. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.07, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a current ratio of 1.21. Forward Air has a twelve month low of $11.21 and a twelve month high of $61.42. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $33.29 and a 200-day moving average price of $31.85.

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.