Chemed (NYSE:CHE) Lowered to Buy Rating by Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Chemed (NYSE:CHE) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a report released on Saturday,Wall Street Zen reports.

Several other research analysts have also weighed in on CHE. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Chemed from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on shares of Chemed from $436.00 to $548.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Bank of America restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Chemed in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of Chemed from $500.00 to $590.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $530.75.

Chemed Price Performance

Chemed stock opened at $503.12 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $6.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.51. Chemed has a one year low of $365.20 and a one year high of $557.00. The business has a fifty day moving average of $523.01 and a two-hundred day moving average of $455.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.91.

Chemed (NYSE:CHE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The company reported $6.06 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.60 by $0.46. Chemed had a net margin of 10.60% and a return on equity of 31.77%. The business had revenue of $673.25 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $665.04 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $4.27 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.8% on a year-over-year basis. Chemed has set its FY 2026 guidance at 25.000-25.750 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Chemed will post 23.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Chemed Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 17th were paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 17th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. This is a boost from Chemed’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. Chemed’s dividend payout ratio is currently 14.06%.

Insider Transactions at Chemed

In other news, CEO Kevin McNamara sold 2,000 shares of Chemed stock in a transaction on Friday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $541.16, for a total value of $1,082,320.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 70,418 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $38,107,404.88. The trade was a 2.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Patrick Grace sold 190 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $532.00, for a total value of $101,080.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 3,533 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,879,556. The trade was a 5.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 5,190 shares of company stock worth $2,803,460 over the last quarter. 3.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in Chemed in the second quarter valued at approximately $691,290,000. TD Asset Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Chemed by 7.5% in the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 324,546 shares of the company’s stock valued at $138,860,000 after purchasing an additional 22,715 shares during the last quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. grew its stake in shares of Chemed by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 322,408 shares of the company’s stock valued at $137,945,000 after buying an additional 15,133 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Chemed by 24.7% during the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 236,392 shares of the company’s stock valued at $89,295,000 after buying an additional 46,791 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Chemed during the 4th quarter worth $76,067,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.85% of the company’s stock.

About Chemed

Chemed Corporation is a diversified holding company that operates businesses in the healthcare and residential and commercial services industries. Its primary operations are conducted through VITAS Healthcare and Roto-Rooter.

VITAS Healthcare provides hospice and palliative care for patients with advanced illnesses. Its services are delivered in patients’ homes, hospice residences, nursing facilities, hospitals and other care settings, primarily throughout the United States. Care is provided by interdisciplinary teams that may include physicians, nurses, hospice aides, social workers and chaplains.

Roto-Rooter provides plumbing and drain-cleaning services, as well as water cleanup and related services for residential and commercial customers.