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

Chemed (NYSE:CHE) issued its earnings results on Wednesday. The company reported $4.68 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.09 by ($0.41), reports. The firm had revenue of $589.23 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $587.18 million. Chemed had a return on equity of 31.69% and a net margin of 12.36%. 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

Shares of Chemed stock opened at $573.34 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $623.76 and a 200-day moving average of $590.54. The company has a market capitalization of $8.67 billion, a PE ratio of 30.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.42. Chemed has a 1-year low of $492.84 and a 1-year high of $654.62.

Chemed Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 26th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 23rd. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.28%. Chemed’s dividend payout ratio is presently 8.61%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Brian C. Judkins sold 11,158 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $645.00, for a total transaction of $7,196,910.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 1,422 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $917,190. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Chemed news, VP Brian C. Judkins sold 11,158 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $645.00, for a total value of $7,196,910.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 1,422 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $917,190. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Spencer S. Lee sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $641.65, for a total transaction of $1,283,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 20,760 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,320,654. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 15,808 shares of company stock worth $10,184,531 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 3.32% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System increased its stake in shares of Chemed by 2.4% during the first quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 4,300 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,760,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Chemed by 5.4% in the first quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,565 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,573,000 after buying an additional 285 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. grew its position in Chemed by 46.3% in the first quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 3,376 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,167,000 after buying an additional 1,068 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates grew its position in Chemed by 6.1% in the first quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 72,086 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,274,000 after buying an additional 4,168 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American National Bank & Trust Co. VA acquired a new position in Chemed in the first quarter worth approximately $3,122,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.85% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on CHE shares. Oppenheimer increased their price target on Chemed from $625.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Chemed from $604.00 to $712.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, March 4th.

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.