Graham Capital Management L.P. Buys Shares of 1,396 Chemed Corporation $CHE

Key Points

• Graham Capital Management L.P. invested approximately $859,000 in Chemed Corporation, acquiring 1,396 shares during the first quarter as part of a series of hedge fund investments.
• Chemed's recent quarterly earnings missed analyst expectations, reporting $4.27 earnings per share against a consensus of $6.02, with revenue totaling $618.80 million.
• The company announced an increase in its quarterly dividend from $0.50 to $0.60 per share, which translates to an annualized dividend yield of 0.5%.

Graham Capital Management L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Chemed Corporation (NYSE:CHE - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 1,396 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $859,000.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Alpine Bank Wealth Management acquired a new position in Chemed during the 1st quarter worth $29,000. HM Payson & Co. acquired a new position in Chemed during the 1st quarter worth $30,000. SVB Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Chemed during the 1st quarter worth $30,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC boosted its position in Chemed by 54.5% during the 1st quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 51 shares of the company's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the period. Finally, WPG Advisers LLC acquired a new position in Chemed during the 1st quarter worth $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.85% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on CHE. Bank of America reduced their price target on Chemed from $708.00 to $650.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, June 30th. Wall Street Zen lowered Chemed from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price objective on Chemed from $640.00 to $589.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Chemed from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $490.00 to $550.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 2nd. Finally, Oppenheimer cut their price objective on Chemed from $650.00 to $580.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, Chemed currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $592.25.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director George J. Walsh III bought 200 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 4th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $417.10 per share, with a total value of $83,420.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 3,523 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,469,443.30. This trade represents a 6.02% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Nicholas Michael Westfall sold 10,012 shares of the business'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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.29% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Chemed Trading Up 1.3%

Shares of Chemed stock traded up $6.02 on Friday, reaching $465.72. 207,294 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 157,398. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $453.89 and a 200-day moving average price of $534.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.46. Chemed Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $408.42 and a fifty-two week high of $623.60.

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). The company 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 firm's revenue for the quarter was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $5.47 earnings per share. Chemed has set its FY 2025 guidance at 22.000-22.300 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Chemed Corporation will post 21.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. This is a boost from Chemed's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 11th. Chemed's payout ratio 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.