Chemed (NYSE:CHE) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Misses Estimates By $0.41 EPS

Chemed (NYSE:CHE) announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The company reported $4.68 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.09 by ($0.41), reports. The company had revenue of $589.23 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $587.18 million. Chemed had a net margin of 12.36% and a return on equity of 30.52%. Chemed updated its FY24 guidance to $23.30-23.70 EPS and its FY 2024 guidance to 23.300-23.700 EPS.

Chemed Price Performance

CHE traded down $12.92 during trading on Friday, reaching $560.42. 102,418 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 69,274. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.42. Chemed has a 1 year low of $492.84 and a 1 year high of $654.62. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $623.29 and its 200-day simple moving average is $590.84.

Chemed Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 26th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 23rd. Chemed’s dividend payout ratio is presently 8.61%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Oppenheimer increased their price objective 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. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Chemed from $604.00 to $712.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Chemed from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday.

Insider Transactions at Chemed

In other news, EVP Spencer S. Lee sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 20,760 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,320,654. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Spencer S. Lee sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 20,760 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,320,654. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Michael D. Witzeman sold 2,650 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $643.14, for a total transaction of $1,704,321.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 2,882 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,853,529.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 15,808 shares of company stock valued at $10,184,531 in the last 90 days. 3.32% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Chemed

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Chemed by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 534,123 shares of the company’s stock valued at $277,584,000 after acquiring an additional 17,487 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in Chemed by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 386,237 shares of the company’s stock valued at $200,727,000 after acquiring an additional 1,044 shares during the period. Impax Asset Management Group plc grew its stake in Chemed by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 311,191 shares of the company’s stock valued at $161,726,000 after acquiring an additional 12,608 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in Chemed by 9.2% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 287,386 shares of the company’s stock valued at $149,355,000 after acquiring an additional 24,161 shares during the period. Finally, Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. grew its stake in Chemed by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 228,040 shares of the company’s stock valued at $118,513,000 after acquiring an additional 4,802 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.85% of the company’s stock.

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.