Chemed (NYSE:CHE) Sets New 52-Week Low – Time to Sell?

Chemed Corporation (NYSE:CHE) hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $373.22 and last traded at $373.7870, with a volume of 301568 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $377.99.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on CHE. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $422.00 target price (down from $572.00) on shares of Chemed in a report on Friday, February 27th. Oppenheimer cut their price target on Chemed from $580.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 27th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Chemed in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Zacks Research lowered Chemed from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut Chemed from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $498.00.

Chemed Stock Down 0.1%

The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $431.58 and its 200 day simple moving average is $436.65. The company has a market cap of $5.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.46.

Chemed (NYSE:CHE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported $6.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.02 by ($0.60). Chemed had a return on equity of 25.66% and a net margin of 10.48%.The business had revenue of $639.34 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $659.09 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $6.83 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. Chemed has set its FY 2026 guidance at 23.250-24.250 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Chemed Corporation will post 21.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Chemed Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 13th. Investors of record on Monday, February 23rd were issued a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 23rd. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. Chemed’s dividend payout ratio is presently 13.06%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Chemed

In other news, CEO Kevin J. Mcnamara sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $403.18, for a total value of $806,360.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 93,719 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,785,626.42. This represents a 2.09% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 3.29% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Chemed

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CHE. Monetary Solutions Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Chemed during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Chemed in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Chemed by 71.4% during the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 60 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. bought a new position in Chemed during the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, First Horizon Corp acquired a new position in Chemed during the third quarter worth about $31,000. 95.85% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Chemed Company Profile

Chemed Corporation is a diversified provider of essential home services and healthcare solutions in the United States. Headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, the company operates through two principal business segments—Roto-Rooter and Vitas Healthcare. Since its founding in 1974, Chemed has built a reputation for reliability and expertise, serving both residential and commercial customers across a broad range of markets.

The Roto-Rooter segment offers a comprehensive suite of plumbing, drain cleaning and water restoration services.