Chemed Co. Plans Quarterly Dividend of $0.50 (NYSE:CHE)

Chemed Co. (NYSE:CHE) declared a quarterly dividend on Friday, February 14th,RTT News reports. Investors of record on Monday, February 24th will be given a dividend of 0.50 per share on Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.36%.

Chemed has raised its dividend by an average of 8.7% per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 16 years. Chemed has a payout ratio of 7.6% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Chemed to earn $23.30 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.00 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 8.6%.

Chemed Trading Down 1.3 %

NYSE:CHE opened at $553.10 on Friday. Chemed has a 1-year low of $512.12 and a 1-year high of $654.62. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $542.34 and a 200 day simple moving average of $564.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.32 billion, a PE ratio of 27.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.48.

Insider Buying and Selling at Chemed

In other news, CEO Kevin J. Mcnamara sold 2,000 shares of Chemed stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $572.77, for a total transaction of $1,145,540.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 101,735 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $58,270,755.95. This trade represents a 1.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Brian C. Judkins bought 145 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 30th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $519.50 per share, with a total value of $75,327.50. Following the acquisition, the vice president now directly owns 1,678 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $871,721. This represents a 9.46 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 3.32% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on Chemed from $697.00 to $633.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. StockNews.com raised Chemed from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, November 30th.

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.