ACHC vs ARDT vs CYH Stock Comparison

Acadia Healthcare Company, Ardent Health and Community Health Systems Prices as of Oct 28, 2026 Peers: Industry group
ARDT Ardent Health, Inc.
$11.94 +14.3% 1M -20.9% 1Y
Market cap
$1.69B
P/E
21.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$6.41B
Div. yield
–
Hospitals Healthcare
4 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Acadia Healthcare Company leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (Acadia Healthcare Company 5, Ardent Health 4, Community Health Systems 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionACHCARDTCYHLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $2.68B $1.69B $373.68M ACHC
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only -2.4x 21.6x 5.2x CYH
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 18.8x 12.8x — ARDT
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +4.3% +3.3% -7.8% ACHC
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months -33.4% 1.2% — ARDT
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital -24.7% 7.4% — ARDT
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA -2.5x 0.9x — ACHC
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield — — 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +27.4% -20.9% -35.7% ACHC
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -13.8%/yr — -27.4%/yr ACHC
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 64.4% 59.6% 50.3% CYH
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 26/100 68/100 45/100 ARDT

Percentile Scorecard

ACHCARDTCYH

Each axis is the mean percentile of its metrics against the company's industry group. 100 is the best in the group, 50 the middle.

Scores by Axis

AxisACHCARDTCYH
Valuation 50 #47 of 92 99 #2 of 92 96 #5 of 92
Growth 6 #82 of 87 45 #48 of 87 21 #69 of 87
Profitability 17 #72 of 86 72 #25 of 86 48 #45 of 86
Financial Health 30 #68 of 97 54 #45 of 97 16 #82 of 97
Shareholder Returns – – –
Overall 26 68 45
  • ACHC ranked among 102 companies in Healthcare Providers
  • ARDT ranked among 102 companies in Healthcare Providers
  • CYH ranked among 102 companies in Healthcare Providers

Price Performance

Price return, split-adjusted, before dividends. Click a name to hide or show it.

Returns

PeriodACHCARDTCYHSPY
1 month +5.7%+14.3%-8.3% +0.9%
3 months +7.9%+9.2%-2.2% +5.9%
6 months +4.4%+24.0%-7.7% +8.5%
Year to date +108.0%+35.2%-15.1% +13.3%
1 year +27.4%-20.9%-35.7% +12.4%
3 years -59.0%—+26.8% +88.1%
3 years, per year -25.7%—+8.2% +23.5%
5 years -52.4%—-79.8% +68.2%
5 years, per year -13.8%—-27.4% +11.0%
10 years -19.9%—-49.3% +263.4%
10 years, per year -2.2%—-6.6% +13.8%

Risk

MeasureACHCARDTCYHSPY
Volatility, 1Y 64.4%59.6%50.3% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 64.7%74.3%55.5% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.951.160.95 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.43-0.35-0.71 0.98
Max drawdown, 5Y -86.9%-61.2%-86.3% -25.4%
From 52-week high -17.1%-20.9%-37.1% -0.9%
52-week high $35.61$15.09$4.21 $779.14
52-week low $11.68$7.83$2.49 $631.97

Valuation History

Weekly multiples on trailing twelve-month fundamentals. Negative or extreme readings (a loss year, a collapsed denominator) are left out so the chart stays readable.

MultipleACHCARDTCYH
P/E now vs peer median -2.4xmedian 25.6x 21.6xmedian 25.6x 5.2xmedian 25.6x
P/S now vs peer median 0.8xmedian 1.6x 0.3xmedian 1.6x 0.0xmedian 1.6x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median -5.5xmedian 16.3x 4.9xmedian 16.3x —median 16.3x
P/FCF now vs peer median -20.0xmedian 21.3x 5.6xmedian 21.3x -2.2xmedian 21.3x
P/B now vs peer median 1.4xmedian 3.3x 1.0xmedian 3.3x -0.3xmedian 3.3x
PEG now vs peer median 0.03median 0.68 —median 0.68 -0.12median 0.68

Financial History

Reported figures by fiscal period, placed on the calendar year (or quarter) each period ended in, so companies with different fiscal years line up.

Trailing twelve monthsACHCARDTCYH
Revenue $3.37B $6.41B $11.65B
Operating income – – $1.23B
Net income -$1.12B $125.32M $188.00M
Free cash flow -$134.03M $304.76M –
EPS (diluted) $-12.33 $0.55 $0.51
Cash & equivalents $171.29M $724.48M $155.00M
Total debt $2.41B $1.10B –
Shares (diluted) 91.37M 143.05M 136.51M
Enterprise value $2.31B -$563.28M $709.68M

All Metrics

58 metrics · best in bold

Bold marks the best reading: the lowest positive value for multiples, leverage and payout, the highest for everything else. The bar under each value is its percentile against that company's own peers. Hover a value for its rank and the peer median.

Valuation

12 metrics
MetricACHCARDTCYH
P/E -2.4x 21.6x 5.2x
P/FCF -20.0x 5.6x -2.2x
P/Operating cash flow 12.7x 3.3x 1.8x
P/S 0.8x 0.3x 0.0x
P/B 1.4x 1.0x -0.3x
P/Tangible book 1.4x 1.0x -0.3x
EV/EBITDA -5.5x 4.9x –
EV/EBIT -4.5x 8.0x –
EV/Revenue 1.5x 0.3x 0.0x
EV/FCF -36.7x 6.8x –
EV/Operating cash flow 23.4x 4.0x 1.8x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.03 – -0.12

Growth

14 metrics
MetricACHCARDTCYH
Revenue growth (1Y) 4.3% 3.3% -7.8%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 6.6% – 66.5%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – – –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – – –
Operating income growth (1Y) – – 48.3%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) – – –
Net income growth (1Y) -838.8% -61.3% -61.5%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -82.3% – -20.6%
EPS growth (1Y) -900.5% -69.6% -81.4%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -83.4% – -42.4%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -50.4% 70.3% -57.2%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -16.6% – 17.8%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 56.9% 181.8% –
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -73.4% – –

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricACHCARDTCYH
Gross margin – – –
EBITDA margin -26.6% 6.7% –
Operating margin – – –
Pretax margin -32.6% 3.2% –
Net margin -33.4% 1.2% –
FCF margin -4.0% 4.8% –
Operating cash flow margin 6.3% 8.0% 1.8%
Return on equity -57.0% 9.7% –
Return on assets -20.2% 3.2% 1.6%
Return on invested capital -24.7% 7.4% –
Return on capital employed -21.9% 6.0% –
Asset turnover 0.6x 1.2x 1.0x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) -0.2x 4.1x 1.1x
Stock comp / revenue 0.9% 0.6% 0.1%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricACHCARDTCYH
Debt / assets 43.5% 20.9% –
Debt / equity 1.2x 0.6x –
Net debt / EBITDA -2.5x 0.9x –
Debt / FCF -18.0x 3.6x –
Liabilities / assets 64.3% 66.9% 107.7%
Equity / assets 35.7% 33.1% -12.3%
Interest coverage – 5.1x –
Current ratio 1.6x 2.1x 1.5x
Quick ratio 1.2x 1.5x –
Cash ratio 0.3x 0.7x –
Altman Z-score 0.28 2.06 –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricACHCARDTCYH
Dividend yield – – –
Net buyback yield – – –
Shareholder yield – – 0.0%
Payout ratio (earnings) – – –
Payout ratio (FCF) – – –
Dividend growth (1Y) – – –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – – –

Analyst Estimates

Solid lines are reported fiscal-year results; dashed lines are the consensus for the years ahead. Hover a year for the analysts' high and low, and how each result compared with its estimate.

ConsensusACHCARDTCYH
Forward P/E 18.8xFY2026 12.8xFY2026 –
EPS, next fiscal year $1.57FY2026 $0.93FY2026 $-1.16FY2026
EPS growth, next FY -21.5%FY2026 -3.1%FY2026 -197.5%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +22.3% +17.2% –
Revenue, next fiscal year $3.53BFY2026 $6.84BFY2026 –
Revenue growth, next FY +6.5%FY2026 +8.2%FY2026 –
Revenue growth, the year after +6.9% +1.4% –

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersACHCARDTCYH
Held by institutions 100.0% 76.4% 82.1%
Institutions holding 314 137 179
Change in shares held, QoQ +3.7% +1.4% +6.6%
Institutions buying 165 87 96
Institutions selling 98 36 52
Buyers to sellers 1.68 2.42 1.85

Return Correlation

Daily returns, last 12 months

1.00 means two stocks move in lockstep, 0 that they move independently. Pairs below about 0.5 diversify each other.

ACHCARDTCYH
ACHC 1.00 0.23 0.30
ARDT 0.23 1.00 0.28
CYH 0.30 0.28 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, ACHC, ARDT and CYH?

Acadia Healthcare Company (ACHC) is the largest by market capitalisation: Acadia Healthcare Company (ACHC) $2.68B, Ardent Health (ARDT) $1.69B, Community Health Systems (CYH) $373.68M.

Which stock is cheaper, ACHC, ARDT and CYH?

Community Health Systems (CYH) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Acadia Healthcare Company (ACHC) -2.4x, Ardent Health (ARDT) 21.6x, Community Health Systems (CYH) 5.2x). On next year's consensus earnings, Ardent Health (ARDT) is cheapest (Acadia Healthcare Company (ACHC) 18.8x, Ardent Health (ARDT) 12.8x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Acadia Healthcare Company (ACHC) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Acadia Healthcare Company (ACHC) +4.3%, Ardent Health (ARDT) +3.3%, Community Health Systems (CYH) -7.8%.

Which company is more profitable?

Ardent Health (ARDT) has the highest net margin (Acadia Healthcare Company (ACHC) -33.4%, Ardent Health (ARDT) 1.2%). On return on invested capital, Ardent Health (ARDT) leads (Acadia Healthcare Company (ACHC) -24.7%, Ardent Health (ARDT) 7.4%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Acadia Healthcare Company (ACHC) returned the most: Acadia Healthcare Company (ACHC) +27.4%, Ardent Health (ARDT) -20.9%, Community Health Systems (CYH) -35.7%. Over five years, Acadia Healthcare Company (ACHC) compounded fastest (Acadia Healthcare Company (ACHC) -13.8%/yr, Community Health Systems (CYH) -27.4%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Community Health Systems (CYH) has been the steadiest (Acadia Healthcare Company (ACHC) 64.4%, Ardent Health (ARDT) 59.6%, Community Health Systems (CYH) 50.3%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, ACHC, ARDT and CYH?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Acadia Healthcare Company (ACHC) leads on 5. Business Quant does not give investment advice; use the comparison as a starting point for your own research.

Data from SEC filings, exchange prices and consensus estimates, via Business Quant. Percentile scores compare each company with its own peer group, so two companies' scores are each relative to different peers unless you rank against the whole market. Price returns exclude dividends. Nothing on this page is investment advice.