By Stockpickr Staff
Updated at 5:19 p.m. on Feb. 24, 2009

Since most hedge funds get paid based on their returns for the year, managers who want to get the most out of a stock investment often turn to shareholder activism as a way to increase shareholder value and ultimately boost their funds' returns.

Here at Stockpickr.com we track many of the latest activist filings for investors interested in piggybacking of these activist funds. We highlight a few of the latest activist situations here.

On Feb. 12, MMI Investors issued a press release calling for Chemed (CHE) to pursue a tax-free spinoff of Roto-Rooter, one of its two business segments. MMI estimates that a tax-free spinoff could potentially yield an increase of 40% to 75% per share to the valuation of Chemed as a publicly traded company.

In the letter, MMI Investors states that subject to certain valuation assumptions, the potential outcome of a spinned-off of Roto-Rooter may yield a stock price of more than $55 to nearly $62 on an independent trading basis, and more than $68 to nearly $71 per share if both businesses were subsequently taken over.

As of 2007, Vitas, Chemed’s end-of-life care business, generated 69% of the firm’s total revenue, while Roto-Rooter, Chemed’s plumbing business, generated 31%.

Roto-Rooter, founded in 1935 by Samuel Blanc in Des Moines, Iowa, was purchased by Chemed in 1980. It is the largest provider of plumbing and drain-cleaning services in North America, providing services to approximately 90% of the U.S. population and 40% of the Canadian population.

Revenue for full-year 2007 was $344.6 million, representing 7.9% year-over-year growth from 2006 full-year revenue, with margins of 20%, 2.6 points higher than 2006 margins of 17.4%.

Vitas, the largest provider of hospice service for patients with severe, life-limiting illnesses, has approximately 8% of the U.S. health care market share. As of 2007, its total sales were $755 million, up 7.5% from 2006 sales of $702 million, with margins of 13.8%, 1.5 points higher than 2006 margins of 12.3%.

According to data from MedPAC, Medicare hospice spending went from just $2.4 billion in 1999 to more than $10 billion in 2007. With the growing trend of aging baby boomers, Vitas' revenue will ultimately benefit.

For the fourth quarter of 2008, Chemed reported net income of $19 million, or 84 cents per share, compared with $20.2 million, or 83 cents per share, in the year-ago quarter. Chemed also said the stimulus package passed by Congress provides for an increase in the Medicare hospice wage index from Oct. 1, 2008, through Sept. 30, 2009. Chemed estimates that this will add about $8 million in additional revenue to Vitas.

Chemed also believes that Roto-Rooter will see revenue growth in the 4%-to-5% range due to increased prices and a shift to more expensive jobs. For full-year 2009, Chemed now expects earnings per share in the $3.70 to $3.95 range.

Chemed closed up 2.7% on Tuesday at $44.43.

In other activist news, on Feb. 9, DellaCamerca Capital sent a letter to the board of directors of Enzon Pharmaceuticals (ENZN) asking it to immediately add two former ImClone board members as new and independent voices on Enzon's board. (ImClone was bought out by Bristol Myers (BMY) for a 25% premium last year.)

DellaCamera's letter also asked Enzon to hold the 2009 annual shareholders meeting in New York City and to see guidance from a new financial adviser.

DellaCamera has an 8% stake in Enzon. Another activist investor
in the company is Carl Icahn, who owns 7.8% of Enzon. He also has activist positions in Yahoo! (YHOO), Biogen Idec (BIIB) and Motorola (MOT).

Enzon closed down 1.9% on Tuesday at $5.81.

On Feb. 9, David Einhorn’s Greenlight Capital sent a letter to the board of MI Developments (MIM) opposing the use of the company’s cash to fund ongoing business development projects at Magna Entertainment (MECA).

Greenlight Capital owns approximately 11.7% of MI Developments. It also has activist positions in URS (URS), Allegheny Energy (AYE) and CommScope (CTV).

MI Developments closed was down about 3.2% on Tuesday at $5.20.

For more activist filings, check out the Latest Activist Filings portfolio on Stockpickr.

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