Should I Buy CHE? CHE 2026 Analysis

Should You Buy Chemed Corp (CHE) Today? Analysis, Price Targets, and 2026 Outlook.

Conclusion

Hold

Latest Price

427.450

1 Day change

-0.59%

52 Week Range

623.610

Analysis Updated At

2026/01/28

CHE is not a good buy right now for a beginner, long-term investor who wants to deploy capital immediately without waiting for a better setup. The stock is in a bearish technical trend, profitability is weakening (Q3 2025 margin/EPS down YoY), hedge funds have been selling aggressively, and a key analyst just downgraded the stock citing persistent margin headwinds at Roto-Rooter. With earnings coming on 2026-02-25, risk/reward is not attractive today versus waiting for either a technical reversal or clearer fundamental improvement.

Technical Analysis

Trend is bearish. Moving averages are stacked negatively (SMA_200 > SMA_20 > SMA_5), indicating sustained downside momentum. MACD histogram is -1.717 and expanding negatively, confirming bearish momentum is strengthening rather than stabilizing. RSI(6) is 29.04, near oversold—this can support a short-term bounce, but it does not override the broader downtrend. Price ($433.08) is sitting right on first support S1 (~432.86). A clean break below S1 raises downside risk toward S2 (~425.38). To regain a constructive setup, CHE would need to reclaim the pivot (~444.97) and then resistance near R1 (~457.08). Near-term pattern stats suggest only modest upside odds: ~9.63% expected trend in the next month, but weak next-day/week expectations.

Options Data

Bearish

Open Interest Put-Call Ratio

Bullish

Option Volume Put-Call Ratio

Options positioning is mixed but leans cautious. Open interest put/call ratio of 1.91 indicates heavier put positioning (bearish or hedging demand). However, today’s option volume put/call ratio of 0.17 shows more call volume than put volume today—but total volume is extremely small (7 contracts), so the signal is not strong. Implied volatility (30D ~27.26) is below historical volatility (~29.8) and IV rank is low (8.25), suggesting the options market is not pricing an outsized move; sentiment is more “cautious/hedged” than “panic.”

Technical Summary

Sell

Buy

Positive Catalysts

Potential technical bounce: RSI near oversold and price sitting at S1 support (~432.
can create a short-term rebound if support holds.
Earnings event: QDEC 2025 earnings on 2026-02-25 (after hours) can reset sentiment if margins stabilize or guidance is stronger than expected.
Defensive business mix: hospice/healthcare exposure (VITAS) can support steadier demand over cycles (long-term positive if execution improves).

Neutral/Negative Catalysts

Clear bearish trend: negative MACD expansion and bearish moving-average stack implies rallies may be sold until trend changes.
Fundamental margin pressure: Q3 2025 profitability fell YoY (net income -15.23%, EPS -10.80%, gross margin -9.80%), aligning with margin-headwind concerns.
Wall Street downgrade: Jefferies cut to Hold and reduced PT to $475 (from $550), explicitly citing persistent Roto Rooter margin headwinds and limited visibility into improvement; expects sideways trading absent a strategic announcement.
Institutional behavior: Hedge funds are reported as selling, with selling amount up 158.47% over the last quarter.
Event risk: upcoming earnings on 2026-02-25 could pressure shares if margin commentary disappoints.
News feed relevance: the provided news summary appears to reference Chemtrade Logistics distributions, not Chemed—so there’s no clear positive CHE-specific news catalyst in the dataset.

Financial Performance

Latest reported quarter: 2025/Q3. Revenue grew modestly to $624.9M (+3.09% YoY), but profitability weakened: net income fell to $64.237M (-15.23% YoY), EPS fell to 4.46 (-10.80% YoY), and gross margin declined to 28.91 (down ~9.80% YoY). The key takeaway is that top-line growth is positive but slow, while margins are compressing—consistent with the thesis that operational headwinds (not demand) are the main issue right now.

Growth

Profitability

Efficiency

Analyst Ratings and Price Target Trends

Recent analyst trend is deteriorating at the margin. RBC (2025-11-10) maintained Outperform but trimmed PT to $572 from $589 after Q3, acknowledging EBITDA slightly below consensus but supportive of management guidance. More recently, Jefferies (2026-01-22) downgraded to Hold from Buy and cut PT sharply to $475 from $550, citing persistent margin headwinds at Roto Rooter and limited visibility into improvement. Wall Street pros: resilient demand profile and the possibility management navigates challenges; one major firm still sees upside (RBC). Wall Street cons: margin pressure, lack of near-term visibility, and expectation of sideways performance absent a strategic catalyst. Influential/political trading: no recent congress trading data available, and no politician activity is provided in the dataset.

4 Analyst Rating

Wall Street analysts forecast CHE stock price to rise over the next 12 months. According to Wall Street analysts, the average 1-year price target for CHE is 574.25 USD with a low forecast of 550 USD and a high forecast of 595 USD. However, analyst price targets are subjective and often lag stock prices, so investors should focus on the objective reasons behind analyst rating changes, which better reflect the company's fundamentals.

4 Buy

0 Hold

0 Sell

Strong Buy

Current: 430.000

Low

550

Averages

574.25

High

595

Current: 430.000

Low

550

Averages

574.25

High

595

Jefferies

Brian Tanquilut

Buy -> Hold

downgrade

$550 -> $475

AI Analysis

2026-01-22

Reason

Jefferies

Brian Tanquilut

Price Target

$550 -> $475

AI Analysis

2026-01-22

downgrade

Buy -> Hold

Reason

Jefferies analyst Brian Tanquilut downgraded Chemed to Hold from Buy with a price target of $475, down from $550. The firm is "incrementally negative" on the company's Roto Rooter business given persistent margin headwinds, limited visibility into improvement, and its view that a path to normalized growth in 2026 appears unlikely. As such, Jefferies expects Chemed shares to trade sideways absent a strategic announcement.

RBC Capital

Outperform -> NULL

downgrade

$589 -> $572

2025-11-10

Reason

RBC Capital

Price Target

$589 -> $572

2025-11-10

downgrade

Outperform -> NULL

Reason

RBC Capital lowered the firm's price target on Chemed to $572 from $589 and keeps an Outperform rating on the shares. The company reported solid Q3 results and reaffirmed full-year guidance, the analyst tells investors in a research note. While adjusted EBITDA in both VITAS and Roto-Rooter was slightly below Street consensus, the print was in line with the management's expectations and serves as reaffirmation of its confidence in navigating challenges, RBC added.

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CHE Should I Buy

CHE Should I Buy

Should You Buy Chemed Corp (CHE) Today? Analysis, Price Targets, and 2026 Outlook.

Technical Analysis

Options Data

Technical Summary

Positive Catalysts

Neutral/Negative Catalysts

Financial Performance

Growth

Profitability

Efficiency

Analyst Ratings and Price Target Trends

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