Cardinal Capital Management Increases Stake in Forward Air Co. (NASDAQ:FWRD)

Cardinal Capital Management grew its position in Forward Air Co. (NASDAQ:FWRD) by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 26,531 shares of the transportation company’s stock after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. Cardinal Capital Management’s holdings in Forward Air were worth $2,815,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FWRD. HRT Financial LP acquired a new stake in shares of Forward Air during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,763,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Forward Air by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 711,240 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $74,602,000 after buying an additional 31,798 shares in the last quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH raised its stake in shares of Forward Air by 24.4% during the 1st quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH now owns 126,178 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $13,597,000 after buying an additional 24,786 shares during the last quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Forward Air by 20.7% in the 4th quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC now owns 164,008 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $17,203,000 after buying an additional 28,169 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Acrisure Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Forward Air in the 4th quarter valued at about $276,000. 97.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Chris C. Ruble bought 1,433 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 25th. The stock was bought at an average price of $69.77 per share, with a total value of $99,980.41. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 28,276 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,972,816.52. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, COO Chris C. Ruble acquired 1,433 shares of Forward Air stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 25th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $69.77 per share, for a total transaction of $99,980.41. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief operating officer now directly owns 28,276 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,972,816.52. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Thomas Schmitt acquired 16,050 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 17th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $62.70 per share, with a total value of $1,006,335.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 73,879 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,632,213.30. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders acquired 23,302 shares of company stock worth $1,471,544. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on FWRD shares. TheStreet downgraded Forward Air from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 5th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Forward Air from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $110.00 to $85.00 in a research report on Tuesday, August 29th. Stifel Nicolaus cut shares of Forward Air from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $127.00 to $103.00 in a research note on Friday, August 11th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Forward Air in a research report on Thursday, August 17th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Finally, Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $130.00 price target on shares of Forward Air in a research note on Monday, August 7th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $104.14.

Forward Air Stock Performance

NASDAQ FWRD opened at $69.27 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $89.78 and its 200-day simple moving average is $98.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.24 and a beta of 1.20. Forward Air Co. has a 1-year low of $60.09 and a 1-year high of $121.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 1.28.

Forward Air (NASDAQ:FWRD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 3rd. The transportation company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.28 by ($0.37). Forward Air had a return on equity of 22.82% and a net margin of 8.32%. The business had revenue of $402.18 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $444.15 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.04 earnings per share. Forward Air’s quarterly revenue was down 21.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Forward Air Co. will post 4.54 EPS for the current year.

Forward Air Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 17th were issued a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 16th. Forward Air’s dividend payout ratio is currently 16.96%.

Forward Air Profile

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 final mile, truckload, shipment consolidation and deconsolidation, warehousing, customs brokerage, and other handling.