Chemed (NYSE:CHE) Lowered to “Hold” at StockNews.com

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

Several other research firms have also issued reports on CHE. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Chemed from $604.00 to $712.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of Chemed from $625.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th.

Chemed Stock Down 2.3 %

NYSE:CHE traded down $13.03 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $560.31. The company had a trading volume of 102,418 shares, compared to its average volume of 80,056. Chemed has a 52-week low of $492.84 and a 52-week high of $654.62. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $623.76 and its 200-day moving average price is $590.54. The company has a market capitalization of $8.47 billion, a PE ratio of 30.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.42.

Chemed (NYSE:CHE) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The company reported $4.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.09 by ($0.41). Chemed had a return on equity of 31.69% and a net margin of 12.36%. The company had revenue of $589.23 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $587.18 million. As a group, research analysts forecast that Chemed will post 21.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Chemed

In other news, EVP Spencer S. Lee sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $641.65, for a total transaction of $1,283,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 20,760 shares in the company, valued at $13,320,654. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Spencer S. Lee sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $641.65, for a total transaction of $1,283,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 20,760 shares in the company, valued at $13,320,654. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Brian C. Judkins sold 11,158 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $645.00, for a total transaction of $7,196,910.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 1,422 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $917,190. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 15,808 shares of company stock worth $10,184,531. Company insiders own 3.32% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Chemed

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Mitchell & Pahl Private Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Chemed by 9.1% during the first quarter. Mitchell & Pahl Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,023 shares of the company’s stock valued at $657,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System increased its stake in shares of Chemed by 2.4% during the first quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 4,300 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,760,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Chemed by 5.4% during the first quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,565 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,573,000 after purchasing an additional 285 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Chemed by 46.3% during the first quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 3,376 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,167,000 after purchasing an additional 1,068 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James & Associates increased its stake in shares of Chemed by 6.1% during the first quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 72,086 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,274,000 after purchasing an additional 4,168 shares in the last quarter. 95.85% of the stock is 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.