Chemed (NYSE:CHE) Downgraded by StockNews.com to “Hold”

StockNews.com lowered shares of Chemed (NYSE:CHE) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report released on Friday morning.

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

Chemed Stock Up 1.3 %

Chemed stock opened at $570.63 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $8.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.46. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $579.16 and a 200-day moving average price of $565.16. Chemed has a twelve month low of $523.33 and a twelve month high of $654.62.

Chemed (NYSE:CHE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $5.64 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.76 by ($0.12). The firm had revenue of $606.18 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $612.22 million. Chemed had a net margin of 12.69% and a return on equity of 27.86%. Chemed’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $5.32 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Chemed will post 22.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Chemed Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Kevin J. Mcnamara sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 103,735 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $62,117,555.35. This represents a 1.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director George J. Walsh III sold 400 shares of Chemed stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $597.47, for a total value of $238,988.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 3,046 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,819,893.62. This represents a 11.61 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 4,113 shares of company stock valued at $2,411,905. Corporate insiders own 3.32% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Chemed

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CHE. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Chemed by 34.4% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 86 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. American National Bank & Trust purchased a new position in Chemed in the third quarter worth $61,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC increased its stake in Chemed by 14.0% in the first quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 147 shares of the company’s stock valued at $94,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. raised its position in Chemed by 60.5% during the second quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 183 shares of the company’s stock valued at $99,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP lifted its stake in Chemed by 721.7% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 189 shares of the company’s stock worth $103,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. 95.85% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.