Chemed Co. (NYSE:CHE) Short Interest Update

Chemed Co. (NYSE:CHE) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest during the month of November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 242,800 shares, a decrease of 9.7% from the November 15th total of 268,900 shares. Approximately 1.7% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 87,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.8 days.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director George J. Walsh III sold 400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 26th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $1,819,893.62. This represents a 11.61 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Spencer S. Lee sold 732 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $575.62, for a total value of $421,353.84. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 18,287 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,526,362.94. This represents a 3.85 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 5,132 shares of company stock valued at $3,003,502 in the last quarter. 3.32% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Chemed

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. EP Wealth Advisors LLC raised 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 worth $814,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC increased its holdings in Chemed by 4.1% in the third quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 655 shares of the company’s stock worth $394,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning increased its holdings in Chemed by 2.8% in the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 1,228 shares of the company’s stock worth $667,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. First Heartland Consultants Inc. increased its holdings in Chemed by 7.2% in the third quarter. First Heartland Consultants Inc. now owns 508 shares of the company’s stock worth $305,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. increased its holdings in Chemed by 4.5% in the third quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 887 shares of the company’s stock worth $533,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. 95.85% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Chemed Stock Down 2.8 %

Shares of CHE stock traded down $15.22 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $524.90. 137,044 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 86,385. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $569.94 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $564.90. Chemed has a 1-year low of $523.33 and a 1-year high of $654.62. The company has a market cap of $7.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.46.

Chemed (NYSE:CHE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $5.64 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.76 by ($0.12). Chemed had a net margin of 12.69% and a return on equity of 27.86%. The firm had revenue of $606.18 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $612.22 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $5.32 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Chemed will post 21.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Chemed Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.38%. Chemed’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 10.11%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on CHE shares. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on Chemed from $697.00 to $633.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. StockNews.com upgraded Chemed from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 30th.

About Chemed

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.