Chemed (NYSE:CHE) Stock Rating Upgraded by StockNews.com

Chemed (NYSE:CHE) was upgraded by research analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued on Saturday.

Separately, Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on Chemed from $697.00 to $633.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th.

Chemed Price Performance

NYSE:CHE opened at $572.39 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.61 billion, a PE ratio of 28.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.46. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $578.27 and its 200-day simple moving average is $565.05. Chemed has a fifty-two week low of $523.33 and a fifty-two week high of $654.62.

Chemed (NYSE:CHE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $5.64 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.76 by ($0.12). The company had revenue of $606.18 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $612.22 million. Chemed had a return on equity of 27.86% and a net margin of 12.69%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $5.32 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Chemed will post 21.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Kevin J. Mcnamara sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $598.81, for a total transaction of $1,197,620.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 103,735 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $62,117,555.35. This trade represents a 1.89 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director George J. Walsh III sold 400 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $597.47, for a total value of $238,988.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 3,046 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,819,893.62. This represents a 11.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 6,845 shares of company stock worth $3,978,798. 3.32% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Chemed by 2.6% in the second quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 580,316 shares of the company’s stock worth $314,868,000 after purchasing an additional 14,651 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Chemed by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 475,372 shares of the company’s stock worth $257,927,000 after buying an additional 12,705 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Chemed by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 464,354 shares of the company’s stock worth $279,063,000 after buying an additional 3,564 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Chemed by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 335,443 shares of the company’s stock worth $201,820,000 after buying an additional 15,791 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Impax Asset Management Group plc grew its position in shares of Chemed by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 332,757 shares of the company’s stock worth $199,977,000 after buying an additional 14,814 shares in the last quarter. 95.85% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Chemed Company Profile

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.