Analysts Set Chemed Corporation (NYSE:CHE) Price Target at $578.50

Shares of Chemed Corporation (NYSE:CHE) have received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the five brokerages that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $578.50.

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Chemed from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 5th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Chemed from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $490.00 to $550.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Chemed from $640.00 to $589.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of Chemed from $610.00 to $595.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 10th. Finally, Oppenheimer reduced their price target on shares of Chemed from $650.00 to $580.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 31st.

Insider Activity

In other Chemed news, CEO Kevin J. Mcnamara sold 3,000 shares of Chemed stock in a transaction on Friday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $461.28, for a total transaction of $1,383,840.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 96,197 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $44,373,752.16. The trade was a 3.02% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing 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 purchased at an average cost of $417.10 per share, for a total transaction of $83,420.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 3,523 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,469,443.30. The trade was a 6.02% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold 13,162 shares of company stock valued at $5,677,511 over the last quarter. 3.29% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Chemed

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Chemed by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 597,175 shares of the company’s stock worth $367,454,000 after purchasing an additional 15,041 shares during the period. Neuberger Berman Group LLC raised its stake in Chemed by 3.9% in the 1st quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 521,212 shares of the company’s stock valued at $320,712,000 after acquiring an additional 19,650 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Chemed by 69.3% in the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 250,722 shares of the company’s stock valued at $122,056,000 after acquiring an additional 102,597 shares during the period. Boston Trust Walden Corp increased its position in shares of Chemed by 0.4% during the second quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 247,434 shares of the company’s stock valued at $120,483,000 after buying an additional 1,083 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Chemed by 9.7% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 218,675 shares of the company’s stock valued at $134,547,000 after buying an additional 19,421 shares during the period. 95.85% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Chemed Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of CHE stock opened at $442.75 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $6.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.43. Chemed has a 52 week low of $408.42 and a 52 week high of $623.60. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $448.71 and a 200-day moving average of $515.20.

Chemed (NYSE:CHE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $4.27 earnings per share (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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $650.60 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $5.47 EPS. The business’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 will post 21.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Chemed Increases Dividend

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

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.