Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV Trims Holdings in Forward Air Co. (NASDAQ:FWRD)

Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV lowered its position in shares of Forward Air Co. (NASDAQ:FWRD – Get Rating) by 16.6% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 2,360 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 469 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV’s holdings in Forward Air were worth $248,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Quantbot Technologies LP lifted its stake in shares of Forward Air by 4,152.6% during the 3rd quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 4,040 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $364,000 after buying an additional 3,945 shares in the last quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC boosted its stake in shares of Forward Air by 8.2% in the third quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 39,021 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $3,520,000 after acquiring an additional 2,950 shares during the period. Cambiar Investors LLC grew its position in shares of Forward Air by 17.6% during the fourth quarter. Cambiar Investors LLC now owns 23,790 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,495,000 after purchasing an additional 3,568 shares in the last quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC raised its stake in Forward Air by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 1,348,425 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $121,709,000 after purchasing an additional 23,012 shares during the period. Finally, First National Bank of Omaha raised its stake in Forward Air by 14.4% during the 3rd quarter. First National Bank of Omaha now owns 24,302 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,193,000 after purchasing an additional 3,059 shares during the period. 99.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Forward Air Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FWRD opened at $97.19 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $102.85 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $105.27. Forward Air Co. has a 52 week low of $84.04 and a 52 week high of $117.57. The company has a quick ratio of 1.56, a current ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.00 and a beta of 1.13.

Forward Air (NASDAQ:FWRD – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 1st. The transportation company reported $1.37 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.30 by $0.07. Forward Air had a net margin of 9.66% and a return on equity of 27.50%. The firm had revenue of $427.07 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $460.54 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.57 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Forward Air Co. will post 5.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Forward Air Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 25th will be given a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.99%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 24th. Forward Air’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.83%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on FWRD shares. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $125.00 price objective on shares of Forward Air in a report on Wednesday, March 8th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Forward Air in a research note on Thursday, May 18th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of Forward Air from $123.00 to $116.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 10th. Raymond James cut their price objective on Forward Air from $128.00 to $115.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 3rd. Finally, Susquehanna decreased their target price on Forward Air from $138.00 to $125.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 3rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $118.20.

About Forward Air

(Get Rating)

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.