C.H. Robinson Worldwide (NASDAQ:CHRW) Hits New 1-Year High – Should You Buy?

C.H. Robinson Worldwide, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHRW) reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $201.48 and last traded at $200.60, with a volume of 133907 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $198.50.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on CHRW. Benchmark lifted their price objective on shares of C.H. Robinson Worldwide from $160.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target on shares of C.H. Robinson Worldwide from $135.00 to $153.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 9th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of C.H. Robinson Worldwide from $177.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday. Weiss Ratings raised C.H. Robinson Worldwide from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price target on C.H. Robinson Worldwide from $196.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $181.29.

C.H. Robinson Worldwide Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $23.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.82, a PEG ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 0.91. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $167.55 and a 200-day moving average of $142.83. The company has a quick ratio of 1.59, a current ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.

C.H. Robinson Worldwide (NASDAQ:CHRW) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The transportation company reported $1.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.11. C.H. Robinson Worldwide had a return on equity of 34.24% and a net margin of 3.62%.The business had revenue of $3.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.97 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.21 EPS. C.H. Robinson Worldwide’s revenue was down 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that C.H. Robinson Worldwide, Inc. will post 4.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

C.H. Robinson Worldwide Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 5th were issued a dividend of $0.63 per share. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 5th. This is a positive change from C.H. Robinson Worldwide’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. C.H. Robinson Worldwide’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 52.17%.

Insider Transactions at C.H. Robinson Worldwide

In related news, insider Angela K. Freeman sold 49,884 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.71, for a total value of $7,468,133.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 65,728 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,840,138.88. The trade was a 43.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Michael John Short sold 2,390 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.91, for a total value of $386,964.90. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 55,158 shares in the company, valued at $8,930,631.78. This trade represents a 4.15% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 53,504 shares of company stock worth $8,070,349 in the last three months. Insiders own 1.47% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On C.H. Robinson Worldwide

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CHRW. New York State Teachers Retirement System raised its stake in shares of C.H. Robinson Worldwide by 12.8% during the 2nd quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 100,735 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $9,666,000 after buying an additional 11,443 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in C.H. Robinson Worldwide during the second quarter worth about $118,976,000. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new stake in C.H. Robinson Worldwide in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,335,000. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR grew its stake in shares of C.H. Robinson Worldwide by 1,393.0% during the 3rd quarter. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR now owns 17,528 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,321,000 after purchasing an additional 16,354 shares during the period. Finally, Vest Financial LLC increased its holdings in shares of C.H. Robinson Worldwide by 16.3% during the 2nd quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 589,485 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $56,561,000 after purchasing an additional 82,609 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.15% of the company’s stock.

C.H. Robinson Worldwide Company Profile

C.H. Robinson Worldwide, Inc is a third-party logistics provider founded in 1905 and headquartered in Eden Prairie, Minnesota. Originally established as a produce brokerage firm, the company has since expanded its offerings to become one of the world’s largest freight and logistics intermediaries. C.H. Robinson leverages a global network of transportation providers, technology platforms, and in-house expertise to connect shippers and carriers across multiple modes of transportation.

The company’s primary services include truckload, less-than-truckload (LTL), intermodal, air and ocean freight, and managed transportation solutions.