Bank of America Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Chemed (NYSE:CHE) Stock Price

Key Points

• Bank of America has reduced its price target for Chemed (NYSE:CHE) from $610 to $595, while still maintaining a "buy" rating for the stock, suggesting a potential upside of 31.21% from its previous close.
• Other brokerages have also lowered their price targets for Chemed, with Oppenheimer setting it at $580 and Royal Bank Of Canada at $589, indicating a general trend of declining expectations for the stock.
• Chemed reported a significant earnings miss for the last quarter with an EPS of $4.27, falling short of the $6.02 expected by analysts, amidst a slight revenue increase of 3.8% year-over-year.

Chemed (NYSE:CHE - Get Free Report) had its target price decreased by analysts at Bank of America from $610.00 to $595.00 in a note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a "buy" rating on the stock. Bank of America's target price points to a potential upside of 34.75% from the company's current price.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price target on Chemed from $640.00 to $589.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Wall Street Zen lowered Chemed from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 5th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Chemed from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $490.00 to $550.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 2nd. Finally, Oppenheimer decreased their price target on Chemed from $650.00 to $580.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $578.50.

Chemed Price Performance

Shares of CHE traded down $4.85 on Wednesday, reaching $441.56. 82,830 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 141,828. The firm has a market cap of $6.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.46. Chemed has a 12 month low of $408.42 and a 12 month high of $623.60. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $451.83 and its 200-day moving average price is $530.54.

Chemed (NYSE:CHE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $4.27 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $6.02 by ($1.75). The company had revenue of $618.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $650.60 million. Chemed had a net margin of 11.56% and a return on equity of 25.83%. Chemed's quarterly revenue was up 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $5.47 EPS. Chemed has set its FY 2025 guidance at 22.000-22.300 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Chemed will post 21.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director George J. Walsh III purchased 200 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 4th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $417.10 per share, with a total value of $83,420.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 3,523 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,469,443.30. The trade was a 6.02% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Nicholas Michael Westfall sold 10,012 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $421.91, for a total value of $4,224,162.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.29% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Chemed

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Alpine Bank Wealth Management bought a new stake in Chemed in the first quarter valued at about $29,000. HM Payson & Co. bought a new stake in Chemed in the first quarter valued at about $30,000. SVB Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Chemed in the first quarter valued at about $30,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Chemed by 54.5% in the first quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 51 shares of the company's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Finally, WPG Advisers LLC bought a new stake in Chemed in the first quarter valued at about $32,000. Institutional investors 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.