Chemed (NYSE:CHE) Hits New 1-Year Low - Should You Sell?

Chemed Co. (NYSE:CHE - Get Free Report)'s share price reached a new 52-week low on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $512.12 and last traded at $517.44, with a volume of 124631 shares. The stock had previously closed at $523.16.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CHE has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on shares of Chemed from $697.00 to $633.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. StockNews.com raised Chemed from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, November 30th.

Chemed Trading Up 0.5 %

The firm has a market cap of $7.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.46. The stock's 50 day moving average is $561.08 and its 200 day moving average is $563.73.

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

Chemed Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.38%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. Chemed's dividend payout ratio is 10.11%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Chemed

In other Chemed news, EVP Spencer S. Lee sold 732 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $575.62, for a total transaction of $421,353.84. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 18,287 shares in the company, valued at $10,526,362.94. This represents a 3.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Kevin J. Mcnamara sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $598.81, for a total value 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 trade represents a 1.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 5,132 shares of company stock valued at $3,003,502 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 3.32% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

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

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.