Chemed Co. (NYSE:CHE) Short Interest Update

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

Chemed Stock Down 0.9 %

CHE stock traded down $5.21 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $549.66. 28,468 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 85,738. The business has a 50-day moving average of $580.37 and a two-hundred day moving average of $565.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.27 billion, a PE ratio of 28.04, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.46. Chemed has a 52 week low of $523.33 and a 52 week high of $654.62.

Chemed (NYSE:CHE - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $5.64 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.76 by ($0.12). The company had revenue of $606.18 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $612.22 million. Chemed had a net margin of 12.69% and a return on equity of 27.86%. Chemed's revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $5.32 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Chemed will post 21.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Chemed Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.36%. Chemed's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 10.11%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Chemed news, CEO Kevin J. Mcnamara sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $598.81, for a total transaction of $1,197,620.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 103,735 shares of the company's stock, valued at $62,117,555.35. This represents a 1.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Nicholas Michael Westfall sold 1,713 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $569.35, for a total value of $975,296.55. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,109 shares of the company's stock, 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 a total of 4,313 shares of company stock valued at $2,527,495 in the last three months. Insiders own 3.32% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Chemed

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Chemed by 2.6% in the second quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 580,316 shares of the company's stock worth $314,868,000 after purchasing an additional 14,651 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Chemed by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 475,372 shares of the company's stock worth $257,927,000 after acquiring an additional 12,705 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Chemed by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 464,354 shares of the company's stock valued at $279,063,000 after acquiring an additional 3,564 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Chemed by 4.9% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 335,443 shares of the company's stock valued at $201,820,000 after acquiring an additional 15,791 shares during the period. Finally, Impax Asset Management Group plc raised its position in Chemed by 4.7% in the third quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 332,757 shares of the company's stock worth $199,977,000 after purchasing an additional 14,814 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.85% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Chemed from $697.00 to $633.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th.

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.

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