Chemed Co. (NYSE:CHE) Short Interest Down 7.9% in September

Chemed Co. (NYSE:CHE) saw a significant drop in short interest in the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 238,500 shares, a drop of 7.9% from the August 31st total of 259,000 shares. Approximately 1.6% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 89,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.7 days.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Nicholas Michael Westfall sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $561.58, for a total value of $1,123,160.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 5,990 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,363,864.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Chemed news, EVP Nicholas Michael Westfall sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $561.58, for a total value of $1,123,160.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,990 shares in the company, valued at $3,363,864.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director George J. Walsh III sold 400 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $597.47, for a total value of $238,988.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,046 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,819,893.62. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 9,144 shares of company stock valued at $5,264,839. Company insiders own 3.32% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Chemed

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Corient Private Wealth LLC grew its position in Chemed by 7.9% during the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,741 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,603,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in Chemed by 45.4% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 9,861 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,766,000 after buying an additional 3,077 shares during the period. Advisory Services Network LLC lifted its stake in Chemed by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 1,013 shares of the company’s stock worth $593,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Chemed by 13.9% in the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 901 shares of the company’s stock worth $527,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH grew its stake in Chemed by 74.3% during the 4th quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 17,981 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,514,000 after acquiring an additional 7,667 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.85% of the company’s stock.

Chemed Stock Performance

NYSE CHE traded down $8.27 on Tuesday, reaching $592.70. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 53,212 shares, compared to its average volume of 83,833. Chemed has a twelve month low of $497.36 and a twelve month high of $654.62. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $575.72 and its two-hundred day moving average is $575.12. The stock has a market cap of $8.97 billion, a PE ratio of 31.99, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.44.

Chemed (NYSE:CHE) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The company reported $5.47 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.59 by ($0.12). The business had revenue of $595.88 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $599.20 million. Chemed had a net margin of 12.88% and a return on equity of 29.21%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $4.71 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Chemed will post 21.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Chemed Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 30th. Investors of record on Monday, August 12th were given a $0.50 dividend. This is a positive change from Chemed’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 12th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.34%. Chemed’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 10.76%.

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.