Stock Traders Buy Large Volume of Forward Air Put Options (NASDAQ:FWRD)

Forward Air Co. (NASDAQ:FWRD) saw unusually large options trading activity on Friday. Stock traders purchased 9,170 put options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 867% compared to the average volume of 948 put options.

Forward Air Trading Up 0.2 %

FWRD opened at $21.25 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $615.27 million, a PE ratio of -0.89 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.07, a current ratio of 1.21 and a quick ratio of 1.21. Forward Air has a fifty-two week low of $11.21 and a fifty-two week high of $40.92. The company’s 50-day moving average is $28.01 and its 200 day moving average is $32.30.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on FWRD. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Forward Air from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Benchmark restated a “hold” rating on shares of Forward Air in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their target price on Forward Air from $32.00 to $28.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $37.00.

Institutional Trading of Forward Air

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of FWRD. Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Forward Air by 812.5% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 803 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 715 shares during the last quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Forward Air by 122.9% during the 4th quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC now owns 1,070 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 590 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new position in Forward Air during the 4th quarter worth $72,000. AlphaQuest LLC grew its stake in shares of Forward Air by 155.9% in the 4th quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 2,925 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $94,000 after acquiring an additional 1,782 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aquatic Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Forward Air in the fourth quarter valued at about $138,000. 97.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Forward Air Company 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 shipment consolidation and deconsolidation, warehousing, customs brokerage, and other handling.