Bayforest Capital Ltd Purchases New Position in Chemed Corporation (NYSE:CHE)

Bayforest Capital Ltd bought a new position in shares of Chemed Corporation (NYSE:CHE - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 1,001 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $616,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Alpine Bank Wealth Management bought a new position in Chemed during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $29,000. HM Payson & Co. bought a new position in Chemed during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC increased its position in Chemed by 54.5% during the 1st quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 51 shares of the company's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. increased its position in Chemed by 633.3% during the 4th quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 88 shares of the company's stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in Chemed by 600.0% during the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 98 shares of the company's stock valued at $60,000 after buying an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.85% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other Chemed news, CEO Kevin J. Mcnamara sold 1,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $576.45, for a total transaction of $864,675.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 101,197 shares in the company, valued at $58,335,010.65. The trade was a 1.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Spencer S. Lee sold 1,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $577.99, for a total value of $866,985.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 14,627 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,454,259.73. This trade represents a 9.30% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 4,500 shares of company stock worth $2,598,450 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 3.29% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CHE has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. 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 research report on Monday, June 30th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Chemed in a research report on Friday, July 25th. They set a "hold" rating and a $500.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price objective on Chemed from $640.00 to $589.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Wall Street Zen lowered Chemed from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, July 5th. Finally, Oppenheimer decreased their price target on Chemed from $650.00 to $580.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $579.75.

Chemed Stock Performance

Shares of CHE stock traded up $5.78 on Friday, reaching $418.08. The stock had a trading volume of 278,714 shares, compared to its average volume of 135,470. The stock has a market cap of $6.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 0.50. Chemed Corporation has a 1 year low of $408.42 and a 1 year high of $623.60. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $511.87 and a 200 day simple moving average of $553.52.

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 net margin of 11.56% and a return on equity of 25.83%. The company had revenue of $618.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $650.60 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $5.47 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Chemed Corporation will post 21.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Chemed Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 17th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 29th were issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 29th. Chemed's payout ratio is 9.74%.

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.