Chemed (NYSE:CHE) Reaches New 52-Week Low Following Analyst Downgrade

Chemed Corporation (NYSE:CHE) reached a new 52-week low during trading on Monday after Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target on the stock from $674.00 to $640.00. Royal Bank Of Canada currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Chemed traded as low as $489.70 and last traded at $494.20, with a volume of 36763 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $559.36.

Several other analysts have also weighed in on the company. Bank of America cut their price objective on Chemed from $708.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Wall Street Zen upgraded Chemed from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Spencer S. Lee sold 1,500 shares of Chemed stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $577.99, for a total value of $866,985.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 14,627 shares in the company, valued at $8,454,259.73. This trade represents a 9.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Kevin J. Mcnamara sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $576.45, for a total value of $864,675.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 101,197 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $58,335,010.65. The trade was a 1.46% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 4,500 shares of company stock worth $2,598,450. Corporate insiders own 3.29% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Chemed

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CHE. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in Chemed by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 142,255 shares of the company’s stock worth $75,366,000 after purchasing an additional 4,838 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE increased its holdings in Chemed by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 4,129 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,187,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Chemed by 39.2% in the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 135 shares of the company’s stock valued at $72,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Chemed by 10.9% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 136,182 shares of the company’s stock valued at $72,149,000 after buying an additional 13,394 shares during the period. Finally, M&T Bank Corp increased its stake in shares of Chemed by 14.4% in the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 964 shares of the company’s stock valued at $511,000 after buying an additional 121 shares during the period. 95.85% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Chemed Stock Down 0.7%

The company has a 50 day moving average price of $561.01 and a 200-day moving average price of $564.04. The company has a market cap of $7.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.55, a P/E/G ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 0.50.

Chemed (NYSE:CHE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The company reported $5.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.59 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $646.94 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $641.78 million. Chemed had a net margin of 12.40% and a return on equity of 27.58%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $5.20 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Chemed Corporation will post 21.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Chemed Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 17th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 29th were issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 29th. Chemed’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 9.74%.

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.