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Chemed Corporation's (NYSE:CHE) Price Is Out Of Tune With Earnings

With a price-to-earnings (or "P/E") ratio of 31.1x Chemed Corporation (NYSE:CHE) may be sending very bearish signals at the moment, given that almost half of all companies in the United States have P/E ratios under 19x and even P/E's lower than 10x are not unusual. Although, it's not wise to just take the P/E at face value as there may be an explanation why it's so lofty.

Recent times have been pleasing for Chemed as its earnings have risen in spite of the market's earnings going into reverse. The P/E is probably high because investors think the company will continue to navigate the broader market headwinds better than most. If not, then existing shareholders might be a little nervous about the viability of the share price.

View our latest analysis for Chemed

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If you'd like to see what analysts are forecasting going forward, you should check out our free report on Chemed.

Is There Enough Growth For Chemed?

Chemed's P/E ratio would be typical for a company that's expected to deliver very strong growth, and importantly, perform much better than the market.

Taking a look back first, we see that the company grew earnings per share by an impressive 31% last year. The strong recent performance means it was also able to grow EPS by 295% in total over the last three years. So we can start by confirming that the company has done a great job of growing earnings over that time.

Shifting to the future, estimates from the four analysts covering the company suggest earnings growth is heading into negative territory, declining 2.7% over the next year. That's not great when the rest of the market is expected to grow by 5.2%.

In light of this, it's alarming that Chemed's P/E sits above the majority of other companies. It seems most investors are hoping for a turnaround in the company's business prospects, but the analyst cohort is not so confident this will happen. There's a very good chance these shareholders are setting themselves up for future disappointment if the P/E falls to levels more in line with the negative growth outlook.

The Key Takeaway

While the price-to-earnings ratio shouldn't be the defining factor in whether you buy a stock or not, it's quite a capable barometer of earnings expectations.

We've established that Chemed currently trades on a much higher than expected P/E for a company whose earnings are forecast to decline. Right now we are increasingly uncomfortable with the high P/E as the predicted future earnings are highly unlikely to support such positive sentiment for long. Unless these conditions improve markedly, it's very challenging to accept these prices as being reasonable.

You always need to take note of risks, for example - Chemed has 1 warning sign we think you should be aware of.

It's important to make sure you look for a great company, not just the first idea you come across. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies with strong recent earnings growth (and a P/E ratio below 20x).

This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

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