Raymond James on Thursday raised its price target for C.H. Robinson Worldwide (NASDAQ:CHRW) to $215.00 from $185.00 and retained an Outperform rating on the freight broker's stock. The adjustment comes as shares trade near a 52-week high of $184.87 after delivering a 74.5% total return over the last year.
The firm pointed to an ongoing operational transformation at C.H. Robinson as the primary rationale for the bump in valuation. Raymond James cited the rollout of lean operating practices and artificial intelligence initiatives that have been implemented since CEO Bozeman joined the company in June 2023. The analyst house said these changes are expected to help reverse a multi-year decline in operating margins.
Despite relatively low gross profit margins of 8.4%, C.H. Robinson sustains robust profitability on other measures, with a return on equity reported at 34%. Raymond James noted these metrics alongside industry dynamics that it views as supportive of the company’s positioning.
Industry factors flagged by the firm include ongoing broker penetration and consolidation across the freight brokerage sector, trends that Raymond James said reinforce C.H. Robinson’s role as the largest domestic freight broker.
Raymond James also discussed the company’s Forwarding unit, which accounted for 28% of gross profit in 2024. The analyst acknowledged structural headwinds in that business stemming from an oversupplied ocean market, but added that this drag appears to be reflected in current market pricing of the stock.
On valuation, Raymond James said the stock is trading at roughly 25 times its estimated 2027 earnings per share, a multiple the firm described as offering an attractive risk-reward profile for investors.
Earnings and analyst responses
C.H. Robinson reported fourth-quarter 2025 earnings with diluted earnings per share of $1.23, beating analyst expectations of $1.13 by 8.85%. Revenue for the quarter came in at $3.9 billion, short of consensus estimates of $3.98 billion.
Following the results, several brokerages adjusted their targets higher while maintaining constructive ratings. Evercore ISI raised its price target to $219 and attributed the earnings outperformance to market share gains and productivity improvements in the North American Surface Transportation business. BofA Securities increased its target to $225, citing the 2% year-over-year lift in EPS as a supporting factor.
BMO Capital also lifted its target, to $180, calling out productivity gains driven by a lean, technology-enabled operating model.
Taken together, these analyst moves reflect a mixed financial picture for C.H. Robinson: an earnings beat and operational progress on one hand, and a revenue shortfall and segment-specific headwinds on the other. Analysts acknowledged both the company's strengths and the areas where performance and market conditions remain challenged.
Bottom line
Raymond James’s target increase and the follow-on target raises from other brokers highlight investor focus on margin recovery and productivity gains enabled by lean processes and AI. At the same time, the Forwarding segment’s exposure to ocean-market oversupply and the recent revenue miss underscore the mixed nature of C.H. Robinson’s near-term financial picture.