Big acquisition hurt this stock

Article Excerpt

FORWARD AIR CORP. $36 is a hold. The Tennessee-based company (Nasdaq symbol FWRD; Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 27.7 million; Market cap: $997.2 million; Dividend yield: 2.7%; Takeover Target Rating: Medium; www.forwardair.com) provides expedited air and ground freight transportation services. The stock is now down about 50% since January 2024 following the company’s $3.2 billion purchase of Omni Logistics, which helps businesses manage their supply chains. The acquisition caused Forward Air’s long-term debt to shoot up to $1.68 billion as of June 30, 2024. That’s a high 1.7 times its market cap. Activist investor Ancora Holdings, which holds about 4% of Forward Air, wants the company to launch a strategic review. That could lead to the sale of non-core businesses, or the entire company. It’s likely other major shareholders will join with Ancora to force changes to the company’s directors and management. Forward Air is a hold. hold…