C.H. Robinson Worldwide, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHRW) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

C.H. Robinson Worldwide, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHRW) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 5,320,000 shares, an increase of 10.1% from the January 15th total of 4,830,000 shares. Currently, 4.6% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 1,150,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.6 days.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other C.H. Robinson Worldwide news, insider Michael D. Castagnetto sold 2,032 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.81, for a total value of $210,941.92. Following the sale, the insider now owns 34,469 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,578,226.89. This trade represents a 5.57 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 1.47% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of C.H. Robinson Worldwide

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CHRW. National Pension Service acquired a new stake in shares of C.H. Robinson Worldwide in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of C.H. Robinson Worldwide by 83.5% in the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 244 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 111 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of C.H. Robinson Worldwide in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Missouri Trust & Investment Co acquired a new position in C.H. Robinson Worldwide during the fourth quarter worth $41,000. Finally, Mainstream Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in C.H. Robinson Worldwide during the fourth quarter worth $41,000. 93.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on CHRW. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on C.H. Robinson Worldwide from $133.00 to $131.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on C.H. Robinson Worldwide from $115.00 to $124.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Barclays increased their price target on C.H. Robinson Worldwide from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. TD Cowen raised their target price on C.H. Robinson Worldwide from $113.00 to $119.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and set a $125.00 target price on shares of C.H. Robinson Worldwide in a research report on Friday, January 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, C.H. Robinson Worldwide has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $117.17.

C.H. Robinson Worldwide Stock Performance

Shares of CHRW stock traded up $0.87 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $99.49. The company had a trading volume of 853,960 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,187,270. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $103.91 and its 200 day simple moving average is $104.54. C.H. Robinson Worldwide has a 52-week low of $65.00 and a 52-week high of $114.82. The stock has a market cap of $11.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.84, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 1.49.

C.H. Robinson Worldwide (NASDAQ:CHRW) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The transportation company reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.11. C.H. Robinson Worldwide had a return on equity of 34.53% and a net margin of 2.63%. Research analysts anticipate that C.H. Robinson Worldwide will post 4.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

C.H. Robinson Worldwide Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a $0.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.49%. C.H. Robinson Worldwide’s dividend payout ratio is currently 64.42%.

About C.H. Robinson Worldwide

C.H. Robinson Worldwide, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides freight transportation services, and related logistics and supply chain services in the United States and internationally. It operates through two segments: North American Surface Transportation and Global Forwarding. The company offers transportation and logistics services, such as truckload, less than truckload transportation brokerage services, which include the shipment of single or multiple pallets of freight; intermodal transportation that comprises the shipment service of freight in containers or trailers by a combination of truck and rail; and non-vessel operating common carrier and freight forwarding services, as well as organizes air shipments and provides door-to-door services.