Strs Ohio Purchases Shares of 2,732 Chemed Corporation $CHE

Strs Ohio purchased a new stake in shares of Chemed Corporation (NYSE:CHE) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 2,732 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,681,000.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its holdings in Chemed by 14.2% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 950 shares of the company’s stock valued at $585,000 after buying an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC purchased a new position in Chemed during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $265,000. Jump Financial LLC purchased a new position in Chemed during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $2,777,000. Mather Group LLC. grew its holdings in Chemed by 53.3% during the 1st quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 161 shares of the company’s stock valued at $99,000 after buying an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Park Place Capital Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Chemed by 71.2% in the 1st quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 3,572 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,198,000 after purchasing an additional 1,486 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.85% of the company’s stock.

Chemed Trading Up 1.1%

CHE opened at $447.32 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $6.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.00, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.46. Chemed Corporation has a 12 month low of $408.42 and a 12 month high of $623.60. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $451.07 and a 200-day moving average price of $528.87.

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

Chemed Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 29th. Investors of record on Monday, August 11th were given a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 11th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. This is an increase from Chemed’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Chemed’s dividend payout ratio is currently 12.34%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CHE has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wall Street Zen cut Chemed from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, July 5th. Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of Chemed from $610.00 to $595.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Chemed from $640.00 to $589.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Oppenheimer lowered their target price on Chemed from $650.00 to $580.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, 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 report on Tuesday, September 2nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Chemed currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $578.50.

Insider Activity at Chemed

In related news, EVP Nicholas Michael Westfall sold 10,012 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $421.91, for a total transaction of $4,224,162.92. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Patrick P. Grace sold 150 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $463.39, for a total value of $69,508.50. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 3,397 shares in the company, valued at $1,574,135.83. This represents a 4.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.29% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.