Short Interest in C.H. Robinson Worldwide, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHRW) Expands By 10.1%

C.H. Robinson Worldwide, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHRW - Get Free Report) saw a significant growth in short interest in January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 5,320,000 shares, a growth of 10.1% from the January 15th total of 4,830,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,150,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.6 days. Approximately 4.6% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on CHRW shares. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of C.H. Robinson Worldwide from $130.00 to $124.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of C.H. Robinson Worldwide from $113.00 to $119.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Raymond James cut 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. Barclays increased their target price on shares of C.H. Robinson Worldwide from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Stephens reiterated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $111.00 target price on shares of C.H. Robinson Worldwide in a report on Thursday, January 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $117.17.

C.H. Robinson Worldwide Stock Up 1.4 %

C.H. Robinson Worldwide stock traded up $1.40 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $100.42. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,087,035 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,127,225. The company has a market capitalization of $11.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.16 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 business's 50 day simple moving average is $103.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $104.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a current ratio of 1.28.

C.H. Robinson Worldwide (NASDAQ:CHRW - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The transportation company reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.11. C.H. Robinson Worldwide had a net margin of 2.63% and a return on equity of 34.53%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that C.H. Robinson Worldwide will post 4.82 earnings per share for the current year.

C.H. Robinson Worldwide Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a $0.62 dividend. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. C.H. Robinson Worldwide's dividend payout ratio is currently 64.42%.

Insider Transactions at C.H. Robinson Worldwide

In related news, insider Michael D. Castagnetto sold 5,016 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.60, for a total value of $499,593.60. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 34,586 shares in the company, valued at $3,444,765.60. This represents a 12.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 1.47% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of C.H. Robinson Worldwide

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CHRW. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its stake in shares of C.H. Robinson Worldwide by 1,245.2% during the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 1,130 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $125,000 after buying an additional 1,046 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB raised its stake in C.H. Robinson Worldwide by 9.6% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 15,134 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $1,670,000 after purchasing an additional 1,327 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd raised its stake 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 worth $1,216,000 after purchasing an additional 445 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in C.H. Robinson Worldwide by 502.6% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 928 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $102,000 after purchasing an additional 774 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. acquired a new stake in C.H. Robinson Worldwide in the 3rd quarter worth about $1,773,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.15% of the company's stock.

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.