Roto-Rooter parent targeted by activist investor 

Roto-Rooter parent Chemed Corporation is being targeted by activist investor Barington Capital Group, which has built an equity stake in the company and is pushing for changes, Bloomberg reported last week. 

What’s happening: While the company is “well-capitalized,” it has underperformed in recent years, said Barington chief executive James Mitarotonda. “The fund believes Chemed can grow its business” and has spoken with management about “introducing a new [board] director,” Bloomberg wrote. “The firm hasn’t pushed to split the company up.”

State of play: Chemed operates two businesses: Roto-Rooter, which represents roughly 36 percent of the company’s revenue, according to its latest quarterly earnings report, and hospice care provider VITAS.

• Chemed’s stock price has fallen by just over 20 percent over the past year — and is down more than 30 percent from its 2024 peak. 

What we’re watching: While Barington hasn’t called for spinning off Roto-Rooter into a standalone company, it has in the past successfully launched campaigns pushing other companies to do so.

• Chemed hasn’t issued a public response to the report, and a company representative declined to comment.