ACHC vs SGRY vs ARDT Stock Comparison

Acadia Healthcare Company, Surgery Partners and Ardent Health Prices as of Oct 23, 2026 Peers: Industry group
SGRY Surgery Partners, Inc.
$15.75 +8.2% 1M -28.3% 1Y
Market cap
$2.99B
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$3.37B
Div. yield
–
Healthcare Services Healthcare
2 wins
ARDT Ardent Health, Inc.
$12.27 +15.2% 1M -17.2% 1Y
Market cap
$1.73B
P/E
22.1x
Revenue (TTM)
$6.41B
Div. yield
–
Hospitals Healthcare
4 wins

Head to Head

10 decided of 12

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

QuestionACHCSGRYARDTLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $2.84B $2.99B $1.73B SGRY
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only -2.5x -33.8x 22.1x –
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 20.1x 37.5x 13.2x ARDT
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +4.3% +4.0% +3.3% ACHC
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months -33.4% -2.6% 1.2% ARDT
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital -24.7% 5.3% 7.4% ARDT
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA -2.5x 6.3x 0.9x ACHC
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +34.1% -28.3% -17.2% ACHC
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -11.4%/yr -18.4%/yr — ACHC
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 64.2% 54.1% 59.5% SGRY
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 26/100 57/100 67/100 ARDT

Percentile Scorecard

ACHCSGRYARDT

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

AxisACHCSGRYARDT
Valuation 45 #52 of 93 89 #11 of 93 99 #2 of 93
Growth 6 #83 of 88 43 #51 of 88 47 #47 of 88
Profitability 17 #72 of 87 64 #32 of 87 66 #30 of 87
Financial Health 34 #66 of 100 31 #69 of 100 58 #43 of 100
Shareholder Returns – – –
Overall 26 57 67
  • ACHC ranked among 103 companies in Healthcare Providers
  • SGRY ranked among 103 companies in Healthcare Providers
  • ARDT ranked among 103 companies in Healthcare Providers

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodACHCSGRYARDTSPY
1 month +10.5%+8.2%+15.2% -1.0%
3 months -8.7%+0.1%+15.4% +2.9%
6 months +15.1%+9.8%+26.6% +6.4%
Year to date +122.1%+1.9%+39.0% +11.4%
1 year +34.1%-28.3%-17.2% +13.1%
3 years -58.0%-35.1%— +79.4%
3 years, per year -25.1%-13.4%— +21.5%
5 years -45.4%-63.8%— +67.7%
5 years, per year -11.4%-18.4%— +10.9%
10 years -19.7%-22.6%— +255.2%
10 years, per year -2.2%-2.5%— +13.5%

Risk

MeasureACHCSGRYARDTSPY
Volatility, 1Y 64.2%54.1%59.5% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 64.7%65.5%74.2% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.950.671.18 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.53-0.52-0.29 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -86.9%-81.4%-61.2% -25.4%
From 52-week high -11.5%-31.3%-19.3% -2.5%
52-week high $35.61$22.94$15.21 $779.14
52-week low $11.68$11.49$7.83 $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.

MultipleACHCSGRYARDT
P/E now vs peer median -2.5xmedian 25.3x -22.9xmedian 25.3x 22.2xmedian 25.3x
P/S now vs peer median 0.9xmedian 1.6x 0.6xmedian 1.6x 0.3xmedian 1.6x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median -5.7xmedian 14.6x 10.0xmedian 14.6x 5.0xmedian 14.6x
P/FCF now vs peer median -21.4xmedian 22.7x 11.0xmedian 22.7x 5.7xmedian 22.7x
P/B now vs peer median 1.4xmedian 3.3x 0.7xmedian 3.3x 1.0xmedian 3.3x
PEG now vs peer median 0.03median 0.66 1.33median 0.66 —median 0.66

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 monthsACHCSGRYARDT
Revenue $3.37B $3.37B $6.41B
Operating income – $383.80M –
Net income -$1.12B $48.10M $125.32M
Free cash flow -$134.03M $187.60M $304.76M
EPS (diluted) $-12.33 $-0.69 $0.55
Cash & equivalents $171.29M $216.70M $724.48M
Total debt $9.75B $3.75B $1.10B
Shares (diluted) 91.37M 128.83M 143.05M
Enterprise value $2.26B $2.15B -$927.45M

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
MetricACHCSGRYARDT
P/E -2.5x -22.9x 22.2x
P/FCF -21.4x 11.0x 5.7x
P/Operating cash flow 13.6x 8.0x 3.4x
P/S 0.9x 0.6x 0.3x
P/B 1.4x 0.7x 1.0x
P/Tangible book 1.5x 0.7x 1.0x
EV/EBITDA -5.7x 10.0x 5.0x
EV/EBIT -4.7x 14.6x 8.2x
EV/Revenue 1.5x 1.7x 0.3x
EV/FCF -38.1x 29.8x 7.0x
EV/Operating cash flow 24.3x 21.7x 4.1x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.03 1.33 –

Growth

14 metrics
MetricACHCSGRYARDT
Revenue growth (1Y) 4.3% 4.0% 3.3%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 6.6% 8.1% –
Gross profit growth (1Y) – – –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – – –
Operating income growth (1Y) – 6.1% –
Operating income CAGR (3Y) – 7.1% –
Net income growth (1Y) -838.8% 136.2% -61.3%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -82.3% 15.6% –
EPS growth (1Y) -900.5% 51.6% -69.6%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -83.4% -17.2% –
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -50.4% -2.2% 70.3%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -16.6% 16.4% –
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 56.9% 7.0% 181.8%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -73.4% 36.7% –

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricACHCSGRYARDT
Gross margin – – –
EBITDA margin -26.6% 16.7% 6.7%
Operating margin – 11.4% –
Pretax margin -32.6% 11.4% 3.2%
Net margin -33.4% -2.6% 1.2%
FCF margin -4.0% 5.6% 4.8%
Operating cash flow margin 6.3% 7.7% 8.0%
Return on equity -57.0% 2.6% 9.7%
Return on assets -20.2% 1.0% 3.2%
Return on invested capital -24.7% 5.3% 7.4%
Return on capital employed -21.9% 5.1% 6.0%
Asset turnover 0.6x 0.4x 1.2x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) -0.2x 5.4x 4.1x
Stock comp / revenue 0.9% 0.3% 0.6%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricACHCSGRYARDT
Debt / assets 43.5% 46.6% 20.9%
Debt / equity 1.2x 1.2x 0.6x
Net debt / EBITDA -2.5x 6.3x 0.9x
Debt / FCF -18.0x 20.0x 3.6x
Liabilities / assets 64.3% 61.5% 66.9%
Equity / assets 35.7% 38.5% 33.1%
Interest coverage – – 5.1x
Current ratio 1.6x 1.9x 2.1x
Quick ratio 1.2x 1.4x 1.5x
Cash ratio 0.3x 0.4x 0.7x
Altman Z-score 0.31 0.76 2.06

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricACHCSGRYARDT
Dividend yield – – –
Net buyback yield – – –
Shareholder yield – – –
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.

ConsensusACHCSGRYARDT
Forward P/E 20.1xFY2026 37.5xFY2026 13.2xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $1.57FY2026 $0.42FY2026 $0.93FY2026
EPS growth, next FY -21.5%FY2026 -10.6%FY2026 -3.1%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +22.3% -2.4% +17.2%
Revenue, next fiscal year $3.53BFY2026 $3.46BFY2026 $6.84BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +6.5%FY2026 +4.7%FY2026 +8.2%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +6.9% -1.2% +1.4%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersACHCSGRYARDT
Held by institutions 100.0% 100.0% 76.4%
Institutions holding 314 189 137
Change in shares held, QoQ +3.7% -0.8% +1.4%
Institutions buying 165 111 87
Institutions selling 98 50 36
Buyers to sellers 1.68 2.22 2.42

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.

ACHCSGRYARDT
ACHC 1.00 0.29 0.23
SGRY 0.29 1.00 0.28
ARDT 0.23 0.28 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, ACHC, SGRY and ARDT?

Surgery Partners (SGRY) is the largest by market capitalisation: Acadia Healthcare Company (ACHC) $2.84B, Surgery Partners (SGRY) $2.99B, Ardent Health (ARDT) $1.73B.

Which company is growing faster?

Acadia Healthcare Company (ACHC) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Acadia Healthcare Company (ACHC) +4.3%, Surgery Partners (SGRY) +4.0%, Ardent Health (ARDT) +3.3%.

Which company is more profitable?

Ardent Health (ARDT) has the highest net margin (Acadia Healthcare Company (ACHC) -33.4%, Surgery Partners (SGRY) -2.6%, Ardent Health (ARDT) 1.2%). On return on invested capital, Ardent Health (ARDT) leads (Acadia Healthcare Company (ACHC) -24.7%, Surgery Partners (SGRY) 5.3%, 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) +34.1%, Surgery Partners (SGRY) -28.3%, Ardent Health (ARDT) -17.2%. Over five years, Acadia Healthcare Company (ACHC) compounded fastest (Acadia Healthcare Company (ACHC) -11.4%/yr, Surgery Partners (SGRY) -18.4%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Surgery Partners (SGRY) has been the steadiest (Acadia Healthcare Company (ACHC) 64.2%, Surgery Partners (SGRY) 54.1%, Ardent Health (ARDT) 59.5%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Ardent Health (ARDT) leads on 4. 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.