Chemed Co. (NYSE:CHE) Short Interest Update

Chemed Co. (NYSE:CHE) saw a large growth in short interest in the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 259,100 shares, a growth of 6.5% from the October 15th total of 243,400 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 79,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.3 days. Currently, 1.8% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of Chemed from $697.00 to $633.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 5th.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Kevin J. Mcnamara sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $598.81, for a total transaction of $1,197,620.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 103,735 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $62,117,555.35. This trade represents a 1.89 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Nicholas Michael Westfall sold 1,713 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $569.35, for a total value of $975,296.55. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,109 shares in the company, valued at $3,478,159.15. This represents a 21.90 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 4,313 shares of company stock valued at $2,527,495 in the last ninety days. 3.32% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Chemed

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CHE. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Chemed by 34.4% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 86 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the period. American National Bank & Trust bought a new stake in shares of Chemed in the 3rd quarter worth about $61,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Chemed by 14.0% in the 1st quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 147 shares of the company’s stock valued at $94,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. increased its position in shares of Chemed by 60.5% during the 2nd quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 183 shares of the company’s stock valued at $99,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP lifted its holdings in shares of Chemed by 721.7% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 189 shares of the company’s stock worth $103,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. 95.85% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Chemed Price Performance

NYSE:CHE traded down $3.46 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $551.41. 35,014 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 85,767. Chemed has a one year low of $523.33 and a one year high of $654.62. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $580.37 and a 200 day moving average price of $565.38. The company has a market cap of $8.30 billion, a PE ratio of 27.78, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.46.

Chemed (NYSE:CHE) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $5.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.76 by ($0.12). Chemed had a return on equity of 27.86% and a net margin of 12.69%. The firm had revenue of $606.18 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $612.22 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $5.32 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Chemed will post 21.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Chemed Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.36%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. Chemed’s payout ratio is 10.11%.

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.