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

C.H. Robinson Worldwide, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHRW) was the target of a significant increase in short interest during the month of 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 sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 1,150,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.6 days.

C.H. Robinson Worldwide Stock Up 0.9 %

CHRW stock opened at $99.49 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $103.73 and a 200-day moving average price of $104.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.82. C.H. Robinson Worldwide has a 12 month low of $65.00 and a 12 month high of $114.82. The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54.

C.H. Robinson Worldwide (NASDAQ:CHRW) last issued its quarterly 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%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that C.H. Robinson Worldwide will post 4.82 EPS 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.62 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.49%. C.H. Robinson Worldwide’s payout ratio is currently 64.42%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on CHRW. Bank of America lowered their price target on C.H. Robinson Worldwide from $130.00 to $122.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of C.H. Robinson Worldwide from $133.00 to $131.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Susquehanna decreased their price objective on C.H. Robinson Worldwide from $130.00 to $127.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of C.H. Robinson Worldwide from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $118.00 to $130.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Raymond James dropped their target price on shares of C.H. Robinson Worldwide from $123.00 to $118.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $117.17.

Insider Activity at C.H. Robinson Worldwide

In other C.H. Robinson Worldwide news, insider Michael D. Castagnetto sold 2,032 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.81, for a total value of $210,941.92. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 34,469 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,578,226.89. This trade represents a 5.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.47% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its stake in C.H. Robinson Worldwide by 1,245.2% in the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 1,130 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $125,000 after purchasing an additional 1,046 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB grew its stake in shares of C.H. Robinson Worldwide by 9.6% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 15,134 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,670,000 after buying an additional 1,327 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd increased its position in C.H. Robinson Worldwide by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 11,022 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,216,000 after buying an additional 445 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in C.H. Robinson Worldwide by 502.6% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 928 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $102,000 after buying an additional 774 shares during the period. Finally, First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. bought a new position in C.H. Robinson Worldwide in the third quarter worth approximately $1,773,000. 93.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

C.H. Robinson Worldwide Company Profile

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.