Short Interest in C.H. Robinson Worldwide, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHRW) Drops By 12.0%

C.H. Robinson Worldwide, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHRW) was the target of a large decline in short interest during the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 4,260,000 shares, a decline of 12.0% from the October 15th total of 4,840,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,240,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.4 days. Approximately 3.6% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on CHRW shares. Susquehanna cut their target price on shares of C.H. Robinson Worldwide from $120.00 to $115.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on C.H. Robinson Worldwide from $88.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on C.H. Robinson Worldwide from $94.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. UBS Group raised C.H. Robinson Worldwide from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $100.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on shares of C.H. Robinson Worldwide from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $107.63.

Insider Activity at C.H. Robinson Worldwide

In other news, insider Michael John Short sold 10,408 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $109.87, for a total transaction of $1,143,526.96. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 70,943 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,794,507.41. This represents a 12.79 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.47% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On C.H. Robinson Worldwide

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in C.H. Robinson Worldwide by 83.5% during the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 244 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV raised its position in C.H. Robinson Worldwide by 168.2% during the second quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 295 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC lifted its stake in C.H. Robinson Worldwide by 94.8% in the second quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 300 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP grew its position in shares of C.H. Robinson Worldwide by 76.7% in the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 394 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 171 shares during the period. Finally, Eastern Bank bought a new stake in shares of C.H. Robinson Worldwide in the 3rd quarter valued at about $54,000. Institutional investors own 93.15% of the company’s stock.

C.H. Robinson Worldwide Trading Down 1.2 %

CHRW traded down $1.29 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $110.19. The stock had a trading volume of 992,095 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,415,563. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $106.75 and its 200-day simple moving average is $95.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.84. C.H. Robinson Worldwide has a 1-year low of $65.00 and a 1-year high of $113.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.49 and a quick ratio of 1.49.

C.H. Robinson Worldwide (NASDAQ:CHRW) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The transportation company reported $1.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.16. C.H. Robinson Worldwide had a return on equity of 30.38% and a net margin of 1.96%. The firm had revenue of $4.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.53 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.84 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that C.H. Robinson Worldwide will post 4.37 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 Thursday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be paid a $0.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.25%. C.H. Robinson Worldwide’s payout ratio is currently 85.81%.

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.