Chemed (NYSE:CHE) Rating Lowered to Hold at StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of Chemed (NYSE:CHE) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Friday.

Several other equities analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Oppenheimer raised their price target on Chemed from $625.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Chemed from $604.00 to $712.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Monday, March 4th.

Chemed Stock Performance

Chemed stock opened at $560.31 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $623.29 and a two-hundred day moving average of $590.84. The company has a market capitalization of $8.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.16, a PEG ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.42. Chemed has a fifty-two week low of $492.84 and a fifty-two week high of $654.62.

Chemed (NYSE:CHE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The company reported $4.68 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.09 by ($0.41). The company had revenue of $589.23 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $587.18 million. Chemed had a return on equity of 30.52% and a net margin of 12.36%. On average, analysts forecast that Chemed will post 21.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Chemed Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 26th were given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 23rd. Chemed’s dividend payout ratio is currently 8.61%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Spencer S. Lee sold 2,000 shares of Chemed stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $641.65, for a total value of $1,283,300.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 20,760 shares in the company, valued at $13,320,654. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Spencer S. Lee sold 2,000 shares of Chemed stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $641.65, for a total value of $1,283,300.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 20,760 shares in the company, valued at $13,320,654. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Michael D. Witzeman sold 2,650 shares of Chemed stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $643.14, for a total value of $1,704,321.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 2,882 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,853,529.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 15,808 shares of company stock valued at $10,184,531 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 3.32% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CHE. Chicago Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Chemed during the fourth quarter worth about $1,170,000. Raymond James & Associates lifted its stake in shares of Chemed by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 67,918 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,715,000 after purchasing an additional 3,654 shares in the last quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board lifted its stake in shares of Chemed by 229.2% during the third quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 5,984 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,110,000 after purchasing an additional 4,166 shares in the last quarter. Trust Point Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Chemed during the fourth quarter worth about $2,325,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Chemed by 1.3% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 97,335 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,585,000 after purchasing an additional 1,283 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.85% of the company’s stock.

Chemed Company Profile

Chemed Corporation provides hospice and palliative care services to patients through a network of physicians, registered nurses, home health aides, social workers, clergy, and volunteers primarily in the United States. The company operates in VITAS and Roto-Rooter segments. It offers plumbing, drain cleaning, excavation, water restoration, and other related services to residential and commercial customers through company-owned branches, independent contractors, and franchisees.