C.H. Robinson Worldwide (NASDAQ:CHRW) Raised to Outperform at Robert W. Baird

Key Points

• Robert W. Baird upgraded C.H. Robinson Worldwide from a "neutral" to an "outperform" rating, with a price target of $135.00, suggesting a potential upside of 21.42% from its previous close.
• The company reported $1.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the last quarter, exceeding estimates, although its quarterly revenue declined by 7.7% year-over-year.
• Institutional investors control 93.15% of C.H. Robinson's stock, indicating strong confidence from large stakeholders in the company's future performance.

C.H. Robinson Worldwide (NASDAQ:CHRW - Get Free Report) was upgraded by analysts at Robert W. Baird from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating in a report issued on Thursday, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage presently has a $135.00 price target on the transportation company's stock. Robert W. Baird's target price would indicate a potential upside of 18.57% from the company's previous close.

A number of other research firms have also recently weighed in on CHRW. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on C.H. Robinson Worldwide from $110.00 to $100.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. Wolfe Research upgraded C.H. Robinson Worldwide from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $112.00 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on C.H. Robinson Worldwide from $119.00 to $110.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. UBS Group decreased their price target on C.H. Robinson Worldwide from $130.00 to $129.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target on C.H. Robinson Worldwide from $106.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $116.33.

C.H. Robinson Worldwide Trading Down 1.3%

CHRW traded down $1.46 on Thursday, reaching $113.86. 2,339,374 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,362,338. The company's 50 day moving average is $97.53 and its 200-day moving average is $97.35. The company has a market cap of $13.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.94, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.86. C.H. Robinson Worldwide has a twelve month low of $84.68 and a twelve month high of $116.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.31.

C.H. Robinson Worldwide (NASDAQ:CHRW - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The transportation company reported $1.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.17 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $4.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.16 billion. C.H. Robinson Worldwide had a net margin of 3.14% and a return on equity of 35.01%. The company's revenue was down 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.15 EPS. Equities analysts predict that C.H. Robinson Worldwide will post 4.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Angela K. Freeman sold 5,700 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.42, for a total transaction of $555,294.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 71,441 shares in the company, valued at $6,959,782.22. This represents a 7.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.47% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On C.H. Robinson Worldwide

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CHRW. North Capital Inc. bought a new stake in C.H. Robinson Worldwide in the first quarter valued at $25,000. NBC Securities Inc. bought a new stake in C.H. Robinson Worldwide in the first quarter valued at $27,000. First Financial Corp IN bought a new stake in C.H. Robinson Worldwide in the first quarter valued at $31,000. WPG Advisers LLC bought a new stake in C.H. Robinson Worldwide in the first quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, FNY Investment Advisers LLC bought a new stake in C.H. Robinson Worldwide in the second quarter valued at $38,000. 93.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.