Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Invests $11.14 Million in Forward Air Co. (NASDAQ:FWRD)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new stake in Forward Air Co. (NASDAQ:FWRD) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 345,411 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,140,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned about 1.19% of Forward Air at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Point72 DIFC Ltd bought a new position in shares of Forward Air in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new position in Forward Air in the 3rd quarter worth $39,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Forward Air by 62.2% during the third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,990 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $70,000 after acquiring an additional 763 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Forward Air by 89.2% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,768 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $133,000 after acquiring an additional 1,776 shares during the period. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Forward Air during the second quarter valued at about $181,000. Institutional investors own 97.03% of the company’s stock.

Forward Air Price Performance

Forward Air stock opened at $33.89 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $981.12 million, a PE ratio of -1.42 and a beta of 1.04. Forward Air Co. has a 52-week low of $11.21 and a 52-week high of $61.42. The company has a quick ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.07. The company’s 50 day moving average is $33.29 and its two-hundred day moving average is $31.85.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.