Chemed (NYSE:CHE) Reaches New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

Chemed Corporation (NYSE:CHE) shares reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $485.98 and last traded at $482.92, with a volume of 11472 shares. The stock had previously closed at $480.87.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CHE has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Zacks Research raised shares of Chemed from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Chemed from $422.00 to $436.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Chemed from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Chemed from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $501.50.

Chemed Price Performance

The company’s fifty day moving average is $431.51 and its 200 day moving average is $425.98. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The stock has a market cap of $6.44 billion, a PE ratio of 26.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 0.52.

Chemed (NYSE:CHE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The company reported $5.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.30 by $0.35. Chemed had a net margin of 10.23% and a return on equity of 27.18%. The firm had revenue of $657.51 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $659.22 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $5.63 earnings per share. Chemed’s revenue was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Chemed has set its FY 2026 guidance at 24.000-24.75 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Chemed Corporation will post 22.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Chemed Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 28th were given a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 28th. Chemed’s dividend payout ratio is 13.08%.

Insider Activity

In other Chemed news, Director Andrea R. Lindell sold 1,347 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $447.33, for a total transaction of $602,553.51. Following the transaction, the director owned 4,578 shares in the company, valued at $2,047,876.74. The trade was a 22.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kevin J. Mcnamara sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $421.13, for a total value of $842,260.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 90,219 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $37,993,927.47. The trade was a 2.17% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 3.33% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Chemed

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its stake in shares of Chemed by 2,444,879.3% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 5,550,103 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,374,667,000 after purchasing an additional 5,549,876 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Chemed during the 4th quarter worth $76,067,000. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Chemed by 89.2% in the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 325,579 shares of the company’s stock worth $139,302,000 after buying an additional 153,469 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Chemed by 1,260.2% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 117,685 shares of the company’s stock valued at $50,353,000 after buying an additional 109,033 shares during the last quarter. Finally, M&T Bank Corp boosted its position in Chemed by 10,291.1% in the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 85,934 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,768,000 after buying an additional 85,107 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.85% of the company’s stock.

Chemed Company Profile

Chemed Corporation is a diversified provider of essential home services and healthcare solutions in the United States. Headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, the company operates through two principal business segments—Roto-Rooter and Vitas Healthcare. Since its founding in 1974, Chemed has built a reputation for reliability and expertise, serving both residential and commercial customers across a broad range of markets.

The Roto-Rooter segment offers a comprehensive suite of plumbing, drain cleaning and water restoration services.