C.H. Robinson Worldwide Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NASDAQ:CHRW)

C.H. Robinson Worldwide, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHRW) was the target of unusually large options trading on Monday. Stock investors acquired 3,772 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 91% compared to the typical daily volume of 1,979 call options.

C.H. Robinson Worldwide Stock Up 2.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:CHRW traded up $2.14 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $106.34. 341,828 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,586,317. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $97.80 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $86.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 1.42 and a current ratio of 1.42. C.H. Robinson Worldwide has a 52-week low of $65.00 and a 52-week high of $106.36. The company has a market capitalization of $12.45 billion, a PE ratio of 41.19, a P/E/G ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 0.82.

C.H. Robinson Worldwide (NASDAQ:CHRW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The transportation company reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.96 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $4.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.53 billion. C.H. Robinson Worldwide had a return on equity of 27.84% and a net margin of 1.90%. The firm’s revenue was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.90 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that C.H. Robinson Worldwide will post 4.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

C.H. Robinson Worldwide Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Friday, September 6th will be paid a $0.62 dividend. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 6th. This is a positive change from C.H. Robinson Worldwide’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.61. C.H. Robinson Worldwide’s payout ratio is presently 98.02%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on CHRW. StockNews.com raised shares of C.H. Robinson Worldwide from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, June 7th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective 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. Susquehanna lifted their price target on shares of C.H. Robinson Worldwide from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Barclays lifted their price target on C.H. Robinson Worldwide from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Evercore ISI raised C.H. Robinson Worldwide from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $82.00 to $99.00 in a research report on Tuesday, June 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $93.67.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Michael John Short sold 10,894 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.38, for a total transaction of $1,071,751.72. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 70,943 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,979,372.34. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.47% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On C.H. Robinson Worldwide

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CHRW. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV boosted 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 purchasing an additional 185 shares during the period. Quent Capital LLC grew its stake in C.H. Robinson Worldwide by 94.8% in the 2nd quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 300 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in C.H. Robinson Worldwide by 147.0% in the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 494 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 294 shares during the period. Evermay Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in C.H. Robinson Worldwide by 336.0% in the 4th quarter. Evermay Wealth Management LLC now owns 545 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 420 shares during the period. Finally, Sentry Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in C.H. Robinson Worldwide during the 1st quarter worth $49,000. 93.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.