C.H. Robinson Worldwide, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHRW) Short Interest Update

C.H. Robinson Worldwide, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHRW) was the target of a significant decline in short interest in the month of January. As of January 30th, there was short interest totaling 7,454,854 shares, a decline of 13.9% from the January 15th total of 8,661,243 shares. Currently, 6.4% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 2,394,604 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.1 days. Based on an average trading volume of 2,394,604 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.1 days. Currently, 6.4% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on C.H. Robinson Worldwide from $166.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of C.H. Robinson Worldwide from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Benchmark boosted their price target on shares of C.H. Robinson Worldwide from $160.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of C.H. Robinson Worldwide from $184.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of C.H. Robinson Worldwide from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $181.29.

C.H. Robinson Worldwide Price Performance

Shares of CHRW stock opened at $185.86 on Thursday. C.H. Robinson Worldwide has a 1 year low of $84.68 and a 1 year high of $203.34. The company has a current ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $175.11 and its 200-day moving average is $149.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.48, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.90.

C.H. Robinson Worldwide (NASDAQ:CHRW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The transportation company reported $1.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $3.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.97 billion. C.H. Robinson Worldwide had a net margin of 3.62% and a return on equity of 34.24%. C.H. Robinson Worldwide’s revenue was down 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.21 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that C.H. Robinson Worldwide will post 4.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

C.H. Robinson Worldwide Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, March 6th will be given a $0.63 dividend. This represents a $2.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th. C.H. Robinson Worldwide’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.17%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other C.H. Robinson Worldwide news, insider Angela K. Freeman sold 8,579 shares of C.H. Robinson Worldwide stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.52, for a total transaction of $1,720,261.08. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 55,611 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,151,117.72. The trade was a 13.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Michael John Short sold 6,368 shares of C.H. Robinson Worldwide stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.30, for a total value of $1,281,878.40. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 52,101 shares in the company, valued at $10,487,931.30. The trade was a 10.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have purchased 2,422 shares of company stock valued at $400,801 and have sold 21,416 shares valued at $4,157,630. Insiders own 1.47% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On C.H. Robinson Worldwide

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in C.H. Robinson Worldwide by 198.6% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 7,143,297 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $945,773,000 after buying an additional 4,751,034 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of C.H. Robinson Worldwide in the 4th quarter valued at $236,665,000. Boston Partners boosted its position in shares of C.H. Robinson Worldwide by 53.0% in the 2nd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,518,118 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $340,646,000 after purchasing an additional 1,218,968 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors acquired a new stake in shares of C.H. Robinson Worldwide during the fourth quarter worth $165,976,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in C.H. Robinson Worldwide by 78.3% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,013,745 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $193,219,000 after purchasing an additional 884,160 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.15% of the company’s stock.

About C.H. Robinson Worldwide

C.H. Robinson Worldwide, Inc is a third-party logistics provider founded in 1905 and headquartered in Eden Prairie, Minnesota. Originally established as a produce brokerage firm, the company has since expanded its offerings to become one of the world’s largest freight and logistics intermediaries. C.H. Robinson leverages a global network of transportation providers, technology platforms, and in-house expertise to connect shippers and carriers across multiple modes of transportation.

The company’s primary services include truckload, less-than-truckload (LTL), intermodal, air and ocean freight, and managed transportation solutions.