Chemed (NYSE:CHE) Rating Increased to Buy at Jefferies Financial Group

Key Points

• Chemed's stock was upgraded from a "hold" to a "buy" rating by Jefferies Financial Group, with a new price target of $550.00, indicating a potential upside of nearly 20%.
• Despite the upgrade, several analysts have recently lowered their price targets for Chemed, with Bank of America reducing their estimate from $708.00 to $650.00.
• Chemed missed quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $4.27 EPS against an expected $6.02 EPS, while quarterly revenue was down compared to analyst estimates.

Chemed (NYSE:CHE - Get Free Report) was upgraded by analysts at Jefferies Financial Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a $550.00 price target on the stock, up from their prior price target of $490.00. Jefferies Financial Group's target price would indicate a potential upside of 19.92% from the company's current price.

Several other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on CHE. Bank of America reduced their price objective on Chemed from $708.00 to $650.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, June 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price target 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 dropped their price target on Chemed from $650.00 to $580.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Chemed from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 5th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $592.25.

Chemed Price Performance

CHE opened at $458.62 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $461.39 and a 200-day simple moving average of $536.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.58, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.46. Chemed has a 12 month low of $408.42 and a 12 month high of $623.60.

Chemed (NYSE:CHE - Get Free Report) last posted 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 business 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%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $5.47 earnings per share. Chemed has set its FY 2025 guidance at 22.000-22.300 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Chemed will post 21.43 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Chemed

In related news, Director George J. Walsh III acquired 200 shares of Chemed stock in a transaction on Monday, August 4th. The shares were bought at an average price of $417.10 per share, for a total transaction of $83,420.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 3,523 shares in the company, valued at $1,469,443.30. This trade represents a 6.02% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Nicholas Michael Westfall sold 10,012 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 4th. The stock was 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. Insiders own 3.29% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Creekmur Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Chemed in the second quarter worth about $28,000. Alpine Bank Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Chemed in the first quarter worth about $29,000. HM Payson & Co. acquired a new position in shares of Chemed in the first quarter worth about $30,000. SVB Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Chemed in the first quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, 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 buying an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.85% of the company's stock.

About Chemed

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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