Candriam S.C.A. Raises Stock Position in Chemed Corporation $CHE

Candriam S.C.A. grew its holdings in shares of Chemed Corporation (NYSE:CHE) by 207.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 45,178 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 30,495 shares during the period. Candriam S.C.A.’s holdings in Chemed were worth $27,799,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Chemed by 14.2% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 950 shares of the company’s stock valued at $585,000 after buying an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC bought a new position in Chemed in the 1st quarter worth about $265,000. Mather Group LLC. boosted its stake in Chemed by 53.3% in the 1st quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 161 shares of the company’s stock worth $99,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Park Place Capital Corp boosted its stake in Chemed by 71.2% in the 1st quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 3,572 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,198,000 after purchasing an additional 1,486 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Synergy Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Chemed by 108.4% in the 1st quarter. Synergy Asset Management LLC now owns 3,049 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,876,000 after purchasing an additional 1,586 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.85% of the company’s stock.

Chemed Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of CHE stock opened at $455.98 on Thursday. Chemed Corporation has a 52 week low of $408.42 and a 52 week high of $623.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.64 billion, a PE ratio of 23.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $476.51 and a 200-day moving average price of $542.28.

Chemed (NYSE:CHE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $4.27 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $6.02 by ($1.75). Chemed had a net margin of 11.56% and a return on equity of 25.83%. The business had revenue of $618.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $650.60 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $5.47 EPS. Chemed’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Chemed has set its FY 2025 guidance at 22.000-22.300 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Chemed Corporation will post 21.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Chemed Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. This is an increase from Chemed’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 11th. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. Chemed’s payout ratio is 12.34%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CHE has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Oppenheimer dropped their price target on shares of Chemed from $650.00 to $580.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Chemed from $640.00 to $589.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of Chemed from $708.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 30th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Chemed from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Chemed in a report on Friday, July 25th. They set a “hold” rating and a $500.00 price target on the stock. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $579.75.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Chemed news, EVP Nicholas Michael Westfall sold 10,012 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $421.91, for a total transaction of $4,224,162.92. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director George J. Walsh III acquired 200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 4th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $417.10 per share, with a total value of $83,420.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 3,523 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,469,443.30. This represents a 6.02% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 3.29% 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.