Hedge Funds Are Buying Forward Air Corporation (FWRD)

Forward Air Corporation (NASDAQ:FWRD) was in 13 hedge funds’ portfolio at the end of March. FWRD shareholders have witnessed an increase in enthusiasm from smart money of late. There were 7 hedge funds in our database with FWRD positions at the end of the previous quarter.

To the average investor, there are tons of gauges shareholders can use to monitor Mr. Market. Two of the best are hedge fund and insider trading movement. At Insider Monkey, our studies have shown that, historically, those who follow the best picks of the best investment managers can outclass their index-focused peers by a superb amount (see just how much).

Just as integral, positive insider trading sentiment is another way to parse down the world of equities. There are lots of reasons for an insider to cut shares of his or her company, but only one, very clear reason why they would behave bullishly. Plenty of empirical studies have demonstrated the market-beating potential of this strategy if piggybackers understand what to do (learn more here).

Keeping this in mind, it’s important to take a glance at the recent action surrounding Forward Air Corporation (NASDAQ:FWRD).

How are hedge funds trading Forward Air Corporation (NASDAQ:FWRD)?

At the end of the first quarter, a total of 13 of the hedge funds we track were bullish in this stock, a change of 86% from the previous quarter. With hedge funds’ capital changing hands, there exists an “upper tier” of noteworthy hedge fund managers who were boosting their holdings considerably.

When looking at the hedgies we track, Royce & Associates, managed by Chuck Royce, holds the biggest position in Forward Air Corporation (NASDAQ:FWRD). Royce & Associates has a $94.6 million position in the stock, comprising 0.3% of its 13F portfolio. Sitting at the No. 2 spot is Jim Simons of Renaissance Technologies, with a $8.8 million position; less than 0.1%% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the company. Some other hedge funds that hold long positions include Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group, Israel Englander’s Millennium Management and John Overdeck and David Siegel’s Two Sigma Advisors.

With a general bullishness amongst the heavyweights, key hedge funds were leading the bulls’ herd. Millennium Management, managed by Israel Englander, initiated the most valuable position in Forward Air Corporation (NASDAQ:FWRD). Millennium Management had 2 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Paul Tudor Jones’s Tudor Investment Corp also made a $0.7 million investment in the stock during the quarter. The following funds were also among the new FWRD investors: D. E. Shaw’s D E Shaw, Mike Vranos’s Ellington, and Matthew Tewksbury’s Stevens Capital Management.

What do corporate executives and insiders think about Forward Air Corporation (NASDAQ:FWRD)?

Insider trading activity, especially when it’s bullish, is particularly usable when the company in question has experienced transactions within the past 180 days. Over the last half-year time frame, Forward Air Corporation (NASDAQ:FWRD) has experienced zero unique insiders buying, and 7 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

Let’s also take a look at hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Forward Air Corporation (NASDAQ:FWRD). These stocks are XPO Logistics Inc (NYSE:XPO), Air Transport Services Group Inc. (NASDAQ:ATSG), Roadrunner Transportation Systems Inc (NYSE:RRTS), UTi Worldwide Inc. (NASDAQ:UTIW), and Hub Group Inc (NASDAQ:HUBG). This group of stocks belong to the air delivery & freight services industry and their market caps match FWRD’s market cap.

With the returns exhibited by Insider Monkey’s tactics, everyday investors must always keep an eye on hedge fund and insider trading activity, and Forward Air Corporation (NASDAQ:FWRD) shareholders fit into this picture quite nicely.

Click here to learn why you should track hedge funds