Kennedy Capital Management LLC Lowers Holdings in Chemed Corporation $CHE

Key Points

• Kennedy Capital Management reduced its Chemed stake by 12.7% in the fourth quarter, selling 2,421 shares and leaving it with 16,669 shares worth about $7.13 million.
• Chemed’s stock has seen mixed analyst sentiment: several firms cut ratings or price targets, and the consensus view is currently Hold with an average price target of $501.50.
• The company posted solid quarterly results, with EPS of $5.65 topping estimates, and it also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.60 per share payable June 16.

Kennedy Capital Management LLC trimmed its holdings in Chemed Corporation (NYSE:CHE - Free Report) by 12.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 16,669 shares of the company's stock after selling 2,421 shares during the period. Kennedy Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.12% of Chemed worth $7,132,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its position in Chemed by 2,444,879.3% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 5,550,103 shares of the company's stock worth $2,374,667,000 after acquiring an additional 5,549,876 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in Chemed by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 521,900 shares of the company's stock worth $223,301,000 after acquiring an additional 21,932 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC grew its position in Chemed by 13.6% in the third quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 385,124 shares of the company's stock worth $172,435,000 after acquiring an additional 46,038 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc grew its position in Chemed by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 324,546 shares of the company's stock worth $138,860,000 after acquiring an additional 22,715 shares during the period. Finally, Epoch Investment Partners Inc. grew its position in Chemed by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 322,408 shares of the company's stock worth $137,945,000 after acquiring an additional 15,133 shares during the period. 95.85% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on CHE. Oppenheimer lowered their price objective on Chemed from $580.00 to $500.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on Chemed from $422.00 to $436.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Zacks Research upgraded Chemed from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Chemed from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Chemed from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $501.50.

Chemed Stock Up 1.0%

NYSE:CHE opened at $423.37 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The stock's fifty day moving average is $416.13 and its two-hundred day moving average is $424.30. Chemed Corporation has a 52 week low of $365.20 and a 52 week high of $562.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.54.

Chemed (NYSE:CHE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The company reported $5.65 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $5.30 by $0.35. Chemed had a return on equity of 27.18% and a net margin of 10.23%.The company had revenue of $657.51 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $659.22 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $5.63 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Chemed has set its FY 2026 guidance at 24.000-24.75 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Chemed Corporation will post 22.3 EPS for the current year.

Chemed Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 28th will be paid a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 28th. Chemed's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.08%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Chemed

In other news, Director Andrea R. Lindell sold 1,347 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $447.33, for a total value of $602,553.51. Following the sale, the director directly owned 4,578 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,047,876.74. This trade represents a 22.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Kevin J. Mcnamara sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $421.13, for a total value of $842,260.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 90,219 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,993,927.47. The trade was a 2.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 3.33% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Chemed Profile

Chemed Corporation is a diversified provider of essential home services and healthcare solutions in the United States. Headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, the company operates through two principal business segments—Roto-Rooter and Vitas Healthcare. Since its founding in 1974, Chemed has built a reputation for reliability and expertise, serving both residential and commercial customers across a broad range of markets.

The Roto-Rooter segment offers a comprehensive suite of plumbing, drain cleaning and water restoration services.

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