Chemed (NYSE:CHE) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results

Chemed (NYSE:CHE) announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday. The company reported $6.75 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.39 by $0.36, FiscalAI reports. Chemed had a return on equity of 31.77% and a net margin of 10.60%. The business had revenue of $690.94 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $685.04 million.

Chemed Stock Down 1.3%

NYSE CHE traded down $6.44 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $506.46. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 191,226 shares, compared to its average volume of 201,312. Chemed has a 52 week low of $365.20 and a 52 week high of $557.00. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $514.82 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $461.28. The company has a market capitalization of $6.62 billion, a PE ratio of 25.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 0.51.

Chemed Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, August 17th were issued a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date 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 (DPR) is currently 14.06%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CHE has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Weiss Ratings raised Chemed from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Thursday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen raised Chemed from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on Chemed from $436.00 to $548.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Bank of America reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Chemed in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their target price on shares of Chemed from $500.00 to $590.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Chemed has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $554.60.

Insider Activity at Chemed

In other Chemed news, EVP Spencer Lee sold 1,000 shares of Chemed stock in a transaction on Friday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $541.04, for a total transaction of $541,040.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 13,912 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,526,948.48. The trade was a 6.71% 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, CEO Kevin McNamara sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $539.51, for a total transaction of $1,079,020.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 70,418 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,991,215.18. The trade was a 2.76% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 9,190 shares of company stock valued at $4,833,160 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 3.33% of the company’s stock.

About Chemed

Chemed Corporation (NYSE:CHE) is a Cincinnati, Ohio-based company that provides healthcare and residential and commercial services through two operating businesses: VITAS Healthcare and Roto-Rooter. Its operations serve customers primarily in the United States, with Roto-Rooter also providing services in Canada.

VITAS Healthcare is a provider of hospice and palliative care for individuals with advanced illnesses. The business delivers care in patients’ homes, hospice inpatient units, hospitals, nursing facilities and other care settings.