KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Raises Holdings in Chemed Corporation $CHE

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS increased its position in shares of Chemed Corporation (NYSE:CHE) by 26.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,800 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS’s holdings in Chemed were worth $2,337,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. DAVENPORT & Co LLC grew its holdings in Chemed by 10.2% in the 2nd quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 474 shares of the company’s stock valued at $231,000 after buying an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Lecap Asset Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in Chemed in the 2nd quarter valued at $978,000. Smith Salley Wealth Management grew its holdings in Chemed by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter. Smith Salley Wealth Management now owns 17,551 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,546,000 after buying an additional 396 shares in the last quarter. Ausbil Investment Management Ltd grew its holdings in Chemed by 345.5% in the 2nd quarter. Ausbil Investment Management Ltd now owns 2,753 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,341,000 after buying an additional 2,135 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Formidable Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Chemed by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. Formidable Asset Management LLC now owns 20,266 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,868,000 after buying an additional 179 shares in the last quarter. 95.85% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Chemed Trading Down 0.5%

CHE opened at $429.34 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $448.45 and its 200 day moving average price is $509.87. Chemed Corporation has a 12-month low of $408.42 and a 12-month high of $623.60. The firm has a market cap of $6.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.07, a PEG ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.43.

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

Chemed Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 29th. Investors of record on Monday, August 11th were paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 11th. This is a positive change 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 several analyst reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Chemed in a report on Wednesday. Oppenheimer dropped 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. Wall Street Zen cut Chemed from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, July 5th. Bank of America dropped their target price on Chemed from $610.00 to $595.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Chemed from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $490.00 to $550.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 2nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $578.50.

Insider Transactions at Chemed

In other Chemed news, EVP Nicholas Michael Westfall sold 10,012 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $421.91, for a total value of $4,224,162.92. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director George J. Walsh III purchased 200 shares of Chemed stock in a transaction on Monday, August 4th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $417.10 per share, for a total transaction of $83,420.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 3,523 shares in the company, valued at $1,469,443.30. This represents a 6.02% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 13,162 shares of company stock worth $5,677,511 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 3.29% of the company’s stock.

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.