Chemed Corporation (NYSE:CHE) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Brokerages

Key Points

• Chemed Corporation has received a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from five research firms, with an average 12-month price target set at $578.50.
• In recent transactions, insider Nicholas Michael Westfall sold over 10,000 shares valued at approximately $4.2 million, indicating a significant transfer of stock holdings.
• The company announced an increase in its quarterly dividend, raising it from $0.50 to $0.60 per share, reflecting a positive adjustment in shareholder returns.

Chemed Corporation (NYSE:CHE - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the five research firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $578.50.

CHE has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on Chemed from $640.00 to $589.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Oppenheimer lowered their target price on Chemed from $650.00 to $580.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Chemed in a research report on Saturday, September 27th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Chemed from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $490.00 to $550.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 2nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Chemed from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, July 5th.

Insider Transactions at Chemed

In other news, EVP Nicholas Michael Westfall sold 10,012 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $421.91, for a total value of $4,224,162.92. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Patrick P. Grace sold 150 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $463.39, for a total transaction of $69,508.50. Following the sale, the director directly owned 3,397 shares in the company, valued at $1,574,135.83. This trade represents a 4.23% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 13,162 shares of company stock valued at $5,677,511. Corporate insiders own 3.29% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CHE. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in Chemed by 17.6% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,382 shares of the company's stock valued at $732,000 after acquiring an additional 207 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in Chemed by 600.0% in the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 98 shares of the company's stock worth $60,000 after buying an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Chemed during the 1st quarter valued at $513,000. Merit Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Chemed during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $257,000. Finally, Whipplewood Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Chemed by 54.5% during the first quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 51 shares of the company's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. 95.85% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Chemed Price Performance

Shares of Chemed stock traded up $0.71 during trading on Friday, hitting $442.75. The company's stock had a trading volume of 178,989 shares, compared to its average volume of 147,736. The stock has a market cap of $6.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.43. Chemed has a 52 week low of $408.42 and a 52 week high of $623.60. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $449.24 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $517.53.

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

Chemed Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 11th were paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 11th. This is a positive change from Chemed's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Chemed's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.34%.

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.

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