R Squared Ltd Acquires New Shares in Chemed Corporation $CHE

R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Chemed Corporation (NYSE:CHE) during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 490 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $239,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in CHE. HM Payson & Co. bought a new stake in shares of Chemed during the 1st quarter valued at $30,000. SVB Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Chemed during the 1st quarter valued at $30,000. WPG Advisers LLC bought a new position in Chemed in the 1st quarter worth about $32,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in Chemed by 330.4% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 99 shares of the company’s stock worth $61,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Zions Bancorporation National Association UT bought a new position in Chemed in the 1st quarter worth about $68,000. 95.85% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on CHE. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on Chemed from $640.00 to $589.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Chemed in a research note on Friday. Wall Street Zen lowered Chemed from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 5th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Chemed from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $490.00 to $550.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 2nd. Finally, Oppenheimer decreased their target price on Chemed from $650.00 to $580.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $578.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director George J. Walsh III bought 200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 4th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $417.10 per share, for a total transaction of $83,420.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 3,523 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,469,443.30. The trade was a 6.02% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Kevin J. Mcnamara sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $461.28, for a total value of $1,383,840.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 96,197 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $44,373,752.16. This represents a 3.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 13,162 shares of company stock valued at $5,677,511. 3.29% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Chemed Trading Up 0.1%

CHE opened at $435.80 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $448.51 and a 200-day moving average price of $498.52. Chemed Corporation has a 12-month low of $408.42 and a 12-month high of $623.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.41, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.43.

Chemed (NYSE:CHE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $4.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.02 by ($1.75). Chemed had a return on equity of 25.83% and a net margin of 11.56%.The firm had revenue of $618.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $650.60 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $5.47 earnings per share. Chemed’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Chemed has set its FY 2025 guidance at 22.000-22.300 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Chemed Corporation will post 21.43 EPS for the current year.

Chemed Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 29th. Investors of record on Monday, August 11th were issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 11th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. This is a boost from Chemed’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Chemed’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 12.34%.

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.