Chemed Co. (CHE) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.50 on August 30th

Chemed Co. (NYSE:CHE) declared a quarterly dividend on Friday, August 2nd, Wall Street Journal reports. Investors of record on Monday, August 12th will be given a dividend of 0.50 per share on Friday, August 30th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 12th. This is a positive change from Chemed’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40.

Chemed has raised its dividend payment by an average of 5.7% annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 16 years. Chemed has a payout ratio of 7.9% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Chemed to earn $23.68 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.00 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 8.4%.

Chemed Stock Down 0.6 %

CHE stock traded down $3.32 during trading on Friday, reaching $580.06. 85,088 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 88,620. Chemed has a 1-year low of $492.84 and a 1-year high of $654.62. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $547.46 and its 200-day moving average price is $582.23. The firm has a market cap of $8.78 billion, a PE ratio of 31.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.43.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Chemed news, Director Patrick P. Grace sold 284 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $540.98, for a total value of $153,638.32. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,270 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,769,004.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, Director Patrick P. Grace sold 284 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $540.98, for a total transaction of $153,638.32. Following the sale, the director now owns 3,270 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,769,004.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Kevin J. Mcnamara sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $569.63, for a total value of $1,139,260.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 105,735 shares in the company, valued at approximately $60,229,828.05. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 9,784 shares of company stock worth $5,502,473 in the last three months. Insiders own 3.32% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CHE has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on Chemed from $712.00 to $697.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 21st. StockNews.com upgraded Chemed from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 4th.

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.