Chemed (NYSE:CHE) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Chemed (NYSE:CHE) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Saturday.

Separately, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Chemed from $697.00 to $633.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th.

Chemed Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of CHE opened at $566.43 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $577.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $565.04. Chemed has a 12 month low of $523.33 and a 12 month high of $654.62. The firm has a market cap of $8.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.62, a PEG ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.46.

Chemed (NYSE:CHE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $5.64 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.76 by ($0.12). Chemed had a return on equity of 27.86% and a net margin of 12.69%. The firm had revenue of $606.18 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $612.22 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $5.32 earnings per share. Chemed’s quarterly revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Chemed will post 21.43 EPS for the current year.

Chemed Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.35%. Chemed’s dividend payout ratio is presently 10.11%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director George J. Walsh III sold 400 shares of Chemed stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $597.47, for a total transaction of $238,988.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 3,046 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,819,893.62. The trade was a 11.61 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Kevin J. Mcnamara sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $598.81, for a total value of $1,197,620.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 103,735 shares in the company, valued at $62,117,555.35. This represents a 1.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 6,845 shares of company stock worth $3,978,798. 3.32% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Chemed

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Chemed by 34.4% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 86 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Chemed by 1.9% during the third quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,354 shares of the company’s stock valued at $814,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Chemed by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 655 shares of the company’s stock valued at $394,000 after acquiring an additional 26 shares during the period. Everpar Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Chemed by 4.9% in the 2nd quarter. Everpar Advisors LLC now owns 580 shares of the company’s stock valued at $315,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares during the period. Finally, Creative Planning lifted its holdings in shares of Chemed by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 1,228 shares of the company’s stock worth $667,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.