Jefferies Financial Group Initiates Coverage on Chemed (NYSE:CHE)

Key Points

• Jefferies Financial Group has initiated coverage on Chemed (NYSE:CHE) with a "hold" rating and a price target of $500.00, indicating a potential upside of 7.84% from the stock's previous close.
• Various analysts have adjusted their ratings, including a downgrading from Bank of America to $650.00 and a reissued "outperform" rating from Royal Bank of Canada at $640.00.
• Chemed recently reported quarterly earnings of $5.63 EPS, surpassing expectations and showing a 9.8% growth in revenue compared to the same quarter last year.

Analysts at Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Chemed (NYSE:CHE - Get Free Report) in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm set a "hold" rating and a $500.00 price target on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group's price objective indicates a potential upside of 7.84% from the stock's previous close.

Several other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. 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 report on Monday, June 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $640.00 price target (down from $674.00) on shares of Chemed in a report on Monday, June 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Chemed from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, July 5th.

Chemed Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of CHE stock opened at $463.64 on Friday. The business's 50 day moving average is $524.68 and its two-hundred day moving average is $556.39. Chemed has a twelve month low of $449.01 and a twelve month high of $623.60. The company has a market capitalization of $6.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.50.

Chemed (NYSE:CHE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The company reported $5.63 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.59 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $646.94 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $641.78 million. Chemed had a return on equity of 27.58% and a net margin of 12.40%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $5.20 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Chemed will post 21.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Chemed

In other Chemed news, EVP Spencer S. Lee sold 1,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $577.99, for a total transaction of $866,985.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 14,627 shares in the company, valued at $8,454,259.73. This represents a 9.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Kevin J. Mcnamara sold 1,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $576.45, for a total value of $864,675.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 101,197 shares of the company's stock, valued at $58,335,010.65. This trade represents a 1.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 4,500 shares of company stock worth $2,598,450 in the last 90 days. 3.29% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Chemed

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CHE. Alpine Bank Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Chemed in the first quarter worth $29,000. HM Payson & Co. acquired a new stake in Chemed during the first quarter worth about $30,000. SVB Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Chemed during the first quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 last quarter. Finally, WPG Advisers LLC bought a new position in Chemed in the 1st quarter worth approximately $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.85% of the company's stock.

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.

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