Chemed Co. (NYSE:CHE) Announces Quarterly Dividend of $0.50

Chemed Co. (NYSE:CHE) declared a quarterly dividend on Friday, August 2nd, Wall Street Journal reports. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 12th will be paid a dividend of 0.50 per share on Friday, August 30th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 12th. This is a boost from Chemed’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40.

Chemed has increased its dividend by an average of 5.7% per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 16 years. Chemed has a dividend payout ratio of 7.9% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Chemed to earn $23.68 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.00 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 8.4%.

Chemed Price Performance

Shares of CHE stock opened at $580.06 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $547.46 and a 200 day moving average of $582.11. Chemed has a 1 year low of $492.84 and a 1 year high of $654.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.43.

Chemed (NYSE:CHE) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The company reported $5.47 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.59 by ($0.12). Chemed had a return on equity of 29.21% and a net margin of 12.88%. The firm had revenue of $595.88 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $599.20 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $4.71 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Chemed will post 21.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Chemed from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 4th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on Chemed from $712.00 to $697.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 21st.

Insider Buying and Selling at Chemed

In other news, EVP Nicholas Michael Westfall sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $561.58, for a total transaction of $1,123,160.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,990 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,363,864.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Nicholas Michael Westfall sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $561.58, for a total transaction of $1,123,160.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 5,990 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,363,864.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Patrick P. Grace sold 284 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $540.98, for a total transaction of $153,638.32. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 3,270 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,769,004.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 9,784 shares of company stock valued at $5,502,473. Corporate insiders own 3.32% of the company’s stock.

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.