Wall Street Zen Downgrades Chemed (NYSE:CHE) to Buy

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded Chemed from “strong-buy” to “buy,” while the broader analyst consensus remains “hold,” with a consensus price target of $530.75.
• Chemed reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, posting $6.06 in EPS versus the $5.60 estimate and $673.25 million in revenue, up 8.8% year over year.
• Shares opened at $503.12, down 0.6%; insiders sold 5,190 shares worth about $2.8 million in the past quarter, while institutional investors own 95.85% of the stock.

Chemed (NYSE:CHE - Get Free Report) was downgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

CHE has been the topic of a number of other reports. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on Chemed from $500.00 to $590.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Bank of America restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Chemed in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on Chemed from $436.00 to $548.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Chemed from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Friday, July 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $530.75.

Chemed Stock Down 0.6%

Chemed stock opened at $503.12 on Friday. Chemed has a fifty-two week low of $365.20 and a fifty-two week high of $557.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.91. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $523.01 and its 200 day simple moving average is $455.61. The stock has a market cap of $6.58 billion, a PE ratio of 25.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.51.

Chemed (NYSE:CHE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The company reported $6.06 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.60 by $0.46. Chemed had a net margin of 10.60% and a return on equity of 31.77%. The firm had revenue of $673.25 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $665.04 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $4.27 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 8.8% on a year-over-year basis. Chemed has set its FY 2026 guidance at 25.000-25.750 EPS. Research analysts predict that Chemed will post 23.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Spencer Lee sold 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $541.04, for a total value of $541,040.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 13,912 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,526,948.48. This represents a 6.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Patrick Grace sold 190 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $532.00, for a total value of $101,080.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 3,533 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,879,556. The trade was a 5.10% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 5,190 shares of company stock valued at $2,803,460. 3.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Chemed during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $691,290,000. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Chemed in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $76,067,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in Chemed in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $48,255,000. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec bought a new stake in Chemed during the 2nd quarter valued at $44,309,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in Chemed during the 2nd quarter valued at $43,800,000. Institutional investors own 95.85% of the company's stock.

About Chemed

Chemed Corporation is a diversified holding company that operates businesses in the healthcare and residential and commercial services industries. Its primary operations are conducted through VITAS Healthcare and Roto-Rooter.

VITAS Healthcare provides hospice and palliative care for patients with advanced illnesses. Its services are delivered in patients' homes, hospice residences, nursing facilities, hospitals and other care settings, primarily throughout the United States. Care is provided by interdisciplinary teams that may include physicians, nurses, hospice aides, social workers and chaplains.

Roto-Rooter provides plumbing and drain-cleaning services, as well as water cleanup and related services for residential and commercial customers.

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