Kestra Investment Management LLC Increases Stake in Chemed Corporation $CHE

Key Points

• Kestra Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Chemed Corporation by 62.3% during Q1, now owning shares worth $1,053,000.
• Chemed's stock recently opened at $465.72 with a market cap of $6.79 billion, after reporting Q2 earnings of $4.27 EPS, missing estimates by $1.75.
• The company recently increased its quarterly dividend from $0.50 to $0.60 per share, yielding 0.5% annually.

Kestra Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Chemed Corporation (NYSE:CHE - Free Report) by 62.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,720 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 660 shares during the period. Kestra Investment Management LLC's holdings in Chemed were worth $1,053,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its holdings in Chemed by 14.2% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 950 shares of the company's stock valued at $585,000 after buying an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC purchased a new position in Chemed in the first quarter valued at $265,000. Jump Financial LLC purchased a new position in Chemed in the first quarter valued at $2,777,000. Mather Group LLC. increased its holdings in Chemed by 53.3% in the first quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 161 shares of the company's stock valued at $99,000 after buying an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Park Place Capital Corp increased its holdings in Chemed by 71.2% in the first quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 3,572 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,198,000 after buying an additional 1,486 shares in the last quarter. 95.85% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Chemed Price Performance

CHE traded down $11.89 on Friday, reaching $446.00. 160,245 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 167,896. The stock has a market cap of $6.50 billion, a PE ratio of 22.93, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.46. Chemed Corporation has a twelve month low of $408.42 and a twelve month high of $623.60. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $451.83 and its 200-day moving average price is $531.04.

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

Chemed Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 11th were issued a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a 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%.

Insider Transactions at Chemed

In other news, Director Patrick P. Grace sold 150 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $463.39, for a total value of $69,508.50. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 3,397 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,574,135.83. This represents a 4.23% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director George J. Walsh III acquired 200 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 4th. The stock was bought at an average price of $417.10 per share, for a total transaction of $83,420.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 3,523 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,469,443.30. The trade was a 6.02% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 3.29% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on CHE shares. Oppenheimer cut their price objective on shares of Chemed from $650.00 to $580.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price objective on shares of Chemed from $640.00 to $589.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Chemed from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, July 5th. Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of Chemed from $610.00 to $595.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Chemed from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $490.00 to $550.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 2nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to MarketBeat, Chemed presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $578.50.

Chemed 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.