Kestra Investment Management LLC Has $1.05 Million Position 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 holdings in Chemed Corporation (NYSE:CHE - Free Report) by 62.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,720 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 660 shares during the quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC's holdings in Chemed were worth $1,053,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in CHE. 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 stake 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 acquiring an additional 18 shares during the period. 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.

Insider Transactions at Chemed

In other news, EVP Nicholas Michael Westfall sold 10,012 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $421.91, for a total transaction of $4,224,162.92. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Patrick P. Grace sold 150 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $463.39, for a total transaction of $69,508.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 3,397 shares in the company, valued at $1,574,135.83. This represents a 4.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.29% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Chemed Price Performance

Shares of CHE stock traded down $11.89 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $446.00. 160,245 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 167,896. Chemed Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $408.42 and a fifty-two week high of $623.60. The stock's fifty day moving average is $451.83 and its two-hundred day moving average is $530.93. The company has a market cap of $6.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.93, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.46.

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

Chemed Increases Dividend

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