Critical Contrast: Chemed (CHE) versus Its Rivals

Chemed (NYSE:CHE) is one of 235 publicly-traded companies in the “Healthcare Providers & Services” industry, but how does it contrast to its competitors? We will compare Chemed to similar businesses based on the strength of its valuation, profitability, institutional ownership, earnings, risk, analyst recommendations and dividends.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

95.8% of Chemed shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 56.9% of shares of all “Healthcare Providers & Services” companies are owned by institutional investors. 3.3% of Chemed shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 15.4% of shares of all “Healthcare Providers & Services” companies are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Chemed and its competitors revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
Chemed	$2.53 billion	$265.24 million	25.83
Chemed Competitors	$20.64 billion	$281.76 million	-2.36

Chemed’s competitors have higher revenue and earnings than Chemed. Chemed is trading at a higher price-to-earnings ratio than its competitors, indicating that it is currently more expensive than other companies in its industry.

Profitability

This table compares Chemed and its competitors’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Chemed	10.60%	31.77%	18.90%
Chemed Competitors	-7.68%	-139.71%	-1.48%

Volatility & Risk

Chemed has a beta of 0.51, indicating that its share price is 49% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Chemed’s competitors have a beta of 0.98, indicating that their average share price is 2% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and target prices for Chemed and its competitors, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Chemed	0	5	1	0	2.17
Chemed Competitors	1798	7568	12998	790	2.55

Chemed presently has a consensus target price of $530.75, suggesting a potential upside of 3.19%. As a group, “Healthcare Providers & Services” companies have a potential upside of 12.50%. Given Chemed’s competitors stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Chemed has less favorable growth aspects than its competitors.

Dividends

Chemed pays an annual dividend of $2.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.5%. Chemed pays out 14.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. As a group, “Healthcare Providers & Services” companies pay a dividend yield of 1.5% and pay out 25.5% of their earnings in the form of a dividend. Chemed has increased its dividend for 16 consecutive years.

Summary

Chemed competitors beat Chemed on 9 of the 15 factors compared.

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. The company was incorporated in 1970 and is headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio.