Chemed Corporation (NYSE:CHE) Short Interest Down 20.0% in February

Chemed Corporation (NYSE:CHE) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest in the month of February. As of February 27th, there was short interest totaling 459,863 shares, a decrease of 20.0% from the February 12th total of 575,139 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 267,665 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.7 days. Approximately 3.5% of the company’s stock are short sold. Approximately 3.5% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 267,665 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.7 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on CHE. Zacks Research downgraded Chemed from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Chemed from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $422.00 target price (down from $572.00) on shares of Chemed in a report on Friday, February 27th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Chemed in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Oppenheimer cut their price target on shares of Chemed from $580.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $498.00.

Chemed Price Performance

Shares of CHE stock traded up $2.48 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $402.03. The stock had a trading volume of 297,643 shares, compared to its average volume of 257,527. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.54 billion, a PE ratio of 21.89, a PEG ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.46. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $441.48 and its 200 day moving average is $440.92. Chemed has a twelve month low of $385.00 and a twelve month high of $623.60.

Chemed (NYSE:CHE) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported $6.42 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.02 by ($0.60). The business had revenue of $639.34 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $659.09 million. Chemed had a net margin of 10.48% and a return on equity of 25.66%. The business’s revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $6.83 earnings per share. Chemed has set its FY 2026 guidance at 23.250-24.250 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Chemed will post 21.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Chemed Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 13th. Investors of record on Monday, February 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 23rd. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Chemed’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.06%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Kevin J. Mcnamara sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $403.18, for a total transaction of $806,360.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 93,719 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,785,626.42. This represents a 2.09% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 3.29% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Chemed

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its stake in shares of Chemed by 2,444,879.3% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 5,550,103 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,374,667,000 after purchasing an additional 5,549,876 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of Chemed by 122.7% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 499,968 shares of the company’s stock worth $223,856,000 after purchasing an additional 275,423 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Chemed during the second quarter worth $89,388,000. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Chemed by 89.2% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 325,579 shares of the company’s stock worth $139,302,000 after purchasing an additional 153,469 shares during the period. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Chemed by 1,260.2% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 117,685 shares of the company’s stock valued at $50,353,000 after buying an additional 109,033 shares during the last quarter. 95.85% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Chemed Company Profile

Chemed Corporation is a diversified provider of essential home services and healthcare solutions in the United States. Headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, the company operates through two principal business segments—Roto-Rooter and Vitas Healthcare. Since its founding in 1974, Chemed has built a reputation for reliability and expertise, serving both residential and commercial customers across a broad range of markets.

The Roto-Rooter segment offers a comprehensive suite of plumbing, drain cleaning and water restoration services.