Chemed Co. (NYSE:CHE) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.50

Chemed Co. (NYSE:CHE) declared a quarterly dividend on Friday, February 14th,RTT News reports. Investors of record on Monday, February 24th will be paid a dividend of 0.50 per share on Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.36%.

Chemed has increased its dividend by an average of 8.7% per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 16 years. Chemed has a payout ratio of 7.6% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Chemed to earn $23.30 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 8.6%.

Chemed Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CHE opened at $553.10 on Friday. Chemed has a 52 week low of $512.12 and a 52 week high of $654.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.95, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.48. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $542.34 and its 200 day moving average is $564.70.

Insider Buying and Selling at Chemed

In other news, EVP Spencer S. Lee sold 732 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $575.62, for a total transaction of $421,353.84. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 18,287 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,526,362.94. The trade was a 3.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Brian C. Judkins purchased 145 shares of Chemed stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 30th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $519.50 per share, for a total transaction of $75,327.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the vice president now owns 1,678 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $871,721. The trade was a 9.46 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 3.32% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CHE has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on Chemed from $697.00 to $633.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. StockNews.com upgraded Chemed from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 30th.

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.