Short Interest in C.H. Robinson Worldwide, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHRW) Grows By 27.7%

C.H. Robinson Worldwide, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHRW - Get Free Report) was the target of a large growth in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 10,750,000 shares, a growth of 27.7% from the March 15th total of 8,420,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,620,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 6.6 days. Approximately 9.3% of the company's stock are short sold.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on CHRW. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on C.H. Robinson Worldwide from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Susquehanna lifted their price target on C.H. Robinson Worldwide from $79.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, March 25th. BNP Paribas reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $76.00 price target on shares of C.H. Robinson Worldwide in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on C.H. Robinson Worldwide from $84.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised C.H. Robinson Worldwide from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Thursday. Six analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $82.57.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On C.H. Robinson Worldwide

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CHRW. Norges Bank acquired a new position in C.H. Robinson Worldwide during the fourth quarter worth $70,174,000. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of C.H. Robinson Worldwide by 4.3% in the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 8,916,720 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $891,417,000 after acquiring an additional 365,084 shares during the last quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of C.H. Robinson Worldwide in the fourth quarter worth $26,861,000. Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in shares of C.H. Robinson Worldwide by 64.9% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 779,362 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $77,445,000 after acquiring an additional 306,755 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pinebridge Investments L.P. raised its holdings in shares of C.H. Robinson Worldwide by 105.5% in the fourth quarter. Pinebridge Investments L.P. now owns 593,653 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $51,286,000 after acquiring an additional 304,709 shares during the last quarter. 93.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

C.H. Robinson Worldwide Price Performance

Shares of C.H. Robinson Worldwide stock traded down $1.67 during trading on Friday, reaching $70.48. The company's stock had a trading volume of 743,308 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,660,325. The company has a quick ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. C.H. Robinson Worldwide has a 12-month low of $69.11 and a 12-month high of $106.14. The company has a market capitalization of $8.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.64 and a beta of 0.72. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $73.42 and a 200-day moving average price of $80.56.

C.H. Robinson Worldwide (NASDAQ:CHRW - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The transportation company reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.80 by ($0.30). The business had revenue of $4.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.35 billion. C.H. Robinson Worldwide had a net margin of 1.85% and a return on equity of 27.61%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that C.H. Robinson Worldwide will post 3.31 EPS for the current year.

C.H. Robinson Worldwide Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 1st were issued a dividend of $0.61 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.46%. C.H. Robinson Worldwide's dividend payout ratio is presently 90.04%.

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.

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