Stephens Bumps Up Forward Air Price Target By 43%

Stephens analyst Jack Atkins upgraded Forward Air Corp FWRD to Overweight from Equal Weight and raised the price target to $165 from $115.
Forward Air, which historically focused on the niche deferred air freight sector, expanded its addressable market to focus more on premium less-than-truckload, or LTL, freight for 2021 and culled non-palletized freight from its network, which served to increase its available capacity by about 20%, mentions Atkins.
The analyst notes that these and other changes, in addition to the company's "aggressively attacking pricing," have led to a "dramatic increase" in revenue per shipment driving a "meaningful improvement in overall profitability."
The analyst believes there is potential for re-rating in the stock's trading multiple, as the company executes its plan to expand its existing network of about 100 terminals by about ten or so a year for the next several years.
Price Action: FWRD shares are trading higher by 2.93% at $124.20 on the last check Tuesday.