ARDT vs AUNA vs NHC Stock Comparison

Ardent Health, Auna and National Healthcare Prices as of Oct 28, 2026 Peers: Industry group
ARDT Ardent Health, Inc.
$11.94 +14.3% 1M -20.9% 1Y
Market cap
$1.73B
P/E
22.2x
Revenue (TTM)
$6.41B
Div. yield
–
Hospitals Healthcare
AUNA Auna S.A.
$4.74 -5.6% 1M -22.4% 1Y
Market cap
$355.26M
P/E
12.7x
Revenue (TTM)
—
Div. yield
–
Hospitals Healthcare
2 wins
NHC National Healthcare Corp
$211.34 -6.6% 1M +73.2% 1Y
Market cap
$3.33B
P/E
23.7x
Revenue (TTM)
$1.56B
Div. yield
0.01%
Home Health and Senior Care Healthcare
7 wins

Head to Head

9 decided of 12

National Healthcare leads on 7 of the 12 questions below (National Healthcare 7, Auna 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionARDTAUNANHCLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $1.73B $355.26M $3.33B NHC
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 22.2x 12.7x 23.7x AUNA
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 12.8x 5.9x — AUNA
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +3.3% — +6.9% NHC
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 1.2% — 9.0% NHC
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 7.4% — 10.0% NHC
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 0.9x — — –
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.01% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -20.9% -22.4% +73.2% NHC
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years — — +24.8%/yr –
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 59.6% 44.1% 34.7% NHC
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 68/100 — 79/100 NHC

Percentile Scorecard

ARDTAUNANHC

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

AxisARDTAUNANHC
Valuation 99 #2 of 92 98 #3 of 92 77 #22 of 92
Growth 45 #48 of 87 – 80 #18 of 87
Profitability 72 #25 of 86 – 81 #17 of 86
Financial Health 54 #45 of 97 17 #81 of 97 88 #13 of 97
Shareholder Returns – – 67 #19 of 55
Overall 68 – 79
  • ARDT ranked among 102 companies in Healthcare Providers
  • AUNA ranked among 102 companies in Healthcare Providers
  • NHC ranked among 102 companies in Healthcare Providers

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodARDTAUNANHCSPY
1 month +14.3%-5.6%-6.6% +0.9%
3 months +9.2%-8.8%-7.7% +5.9%
6 months +24.0%-7.2%+20.7% +8.5%
Year to date +35.2%-3.7%+54.2% +13.3%
1 year -20.9%-22.4%+73.2% +12.4%
3 years ——+219.7% +88.1%
3 years, per year ——+47.4% +23.5%
5 years ——+202.2% +68.2%
5 years, per year ——+24.8% +11.0%
10 years ——+226.5% +263.4%
10 years, per year ——+12.6% +13.8%

Risk

MeasureARDTAUNANHCSPY
Volatility, 1Y 59.6%44.1%34.7% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 74.3%43.2%32.2% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.160.850.13 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.35-0.512.11 0.98
Max drawdown, 5Y -61.2%-61.1%-34.4% -25.4%
From 52-week high -20.9%-22.4%-14.5% -0.9%
52-week high $15.09$6.11$247.31 $779.14
52-week low $7.83$4.15$119.44 $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.

MultipleARDTAUNANHC
P/E now vs peer median 21.6xmedian 25.6x 12.7xmedian 25.6x 23.5xmedian 25.6x
P/S now vs peer median 0.3xmedian 1.6x 0.3xmedian 1.6x 2.1xmedian 1.6x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 4.9xmedian 16.3x —median 16.3x 16.3xmedian 16.3x
P/FCF now vs peer median 5.6xmedian 21.3x 2.2xmedian 21.3x 22.6xmedian 21.3x
P/B now vs peer median 1.0xmedian 3.3x 0.7xmedian 3.3x 2.9xmedian 3.3x
PEG now vs peer median —median 0.68 —median 0.68 0.38median 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 monthsARDTAUNANHC
Revenue $6.41B – $1.56B
Operating income – – $144.68M
Net income $125.32M – $142.84M
Free cash flow $304.76M – $146.53M
EPS (diluted) $0.55 – $8.84
Cash & equivalents $724.48M $99.77M $39.21M
Total debt $1.10B $1.05B –
Shares (diluted) 143.05M 74.20M 15.86M
Enterprise value -$918.95M $98.95M $2.31B

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
MetricARDTAUNANHC
P/E 21.6x 12.7x 23.5x
P/FCF 5.6x 2.2x 22.6x
P/Operating cash flow 3.3x – 17.5x
P/S 0.3x 0.3x 2.1x
P/B 1.0x 0.7x 2.9x
P/Tangible book 1.0x 0.7x 3.0x
EV/EBITDA 4.9x – 16.3x
EV/EBIT 8.0x – 21.4x
EV/Revenue 0.3x – 2.0x
EV/FCF 6.8x – 21.2x
EV/Operating cash flow 4.0x – 16.4x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) – – 0.38

Growth

14 metrics
MetricARDTAUNANHC
Revenue growth (1Y) 3.3% – 6.9%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) – – 12.8%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – – –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – – –
Operating income growth (1Y) – – 24.1%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) – – 57.4%
Net income growth (1Y) -61.3% – 35.9%
Net income CAGR (3Y) – – 68.9%
EPS growth (1Y) -69.6% – 31.6%
EPS CAGR (3Y) – – 61.9%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 70.3% – 26.7%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) – – 44.1%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 181.8% – 23.2%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) – – 58.0%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricARDTAUNANHC
Gross margin – – –
EBITDA margin 6.7% – 12.2%
Operating margin – – 9.3%
Pretax margin 3.2% – 11.9%
Net margin 1.2% – 9.0%
FCF margin 4.8% – 9.4%
Operating cash flow margin 8.0% – 12.1%
Return on equity 9.7% – 12.8%
Return on assets 3.2% – 9.3%
Return on invested capital 7.4% – 10.0%
Return on capital employed 6.0% – 11.2%
Asset turnover 1.2x – 1.0x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 4.1x – 1.3x
Stock comp / revenue 0.6% – 0.3%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricARDTAUNANHC
Debt / assets 20.9% 48.4% –
Debt / equity 0.6x 2.2x –
Net debt / EBITDA 0.9x – –
Debt / FCF 3.6x – –
Liabilities / assets 66.9% 78.1% 26.6%
Equity / assets 33.1% 21.9% 73.4%
Interest coverage 5.1x – 56.6x
Current ratio 2.1x 1.1x 1.9x
Quick ratio 1.5x 0.9x 1.5x
Cash ratio 0.7x 0.2x 0.9x
Altman Z-score 2.06 – 7.15

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricARDTAUNANHC
Dividend yield – – 1.2%
Net buyback yield – – 0.1%
Shareholder yield – – 1.4%
Payout ratio (earnings) – – 27.8%
Payout ratio (FCF) – – 27.1%
Dividend growth (1Y) – – 5.6%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – – 4.3%

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.

ConsensusARDTAUNANHC
Forward P/E 12.8xFY2026 5.9xFY2026 –
EPS, next fiscal year $0.93FY2026 $0.80FY2026 –
EPS growth, next FY -3.1%FY2026 -38.5%FY2026 –
EPS growth, the year after +17.2% +21.2% –
Revenue, next fiscal year $6.84BFY2026 $1.48BFY2026 –
Revenue growth, next FY +8.2%FY2026 +14.1%FY2026 –
Revenue growth, the year after +1.4% +7.1% –

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersARDTAUNANHC
Held by institutions 76.4% 8.1% 65.3%
Institutions holding 137 51 250
Change in shares held, QoQ +1.4% -14.2% -0.6%
Institutions buying 87 28 136
Institutions selling 36 14 72
Buyers to sellers 2.42 2.00 1.89

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.

ARDTAUNANHC
ARDT 1.00 0.24 0.22
AUNA 0.24 1.00 0.08
NHC 0.22 0.08 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, ARDT, AUNA and NHC?

National Healthcare (NHC) is the largest by market capitalisation: Ardent Health (ARDT) $1.73B, Auna (AUNA) $355.26M, National Healthcare (NHC) $3.33B.

Which stock is cheaper, ARDT, AUNA and NHC?

Auna (AUNA) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Ardent Health (ARDT) 22.2x, Auna (AUNA) 12.7x, National Healthcare (NHC) 23.7x). On next year's consensus earnings, Auna (AUNA) is cheapest (Ardent Health (ARDT) 12.8x, Auna (AUNA) 5.9x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

National Healthcare (NHC) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Ardent Health (ARDT) +3.3%, National Healthcare (NHC) +6.9%.

Which company is more profitable?

National Healthcare (NHC) has the highest net margin (Ardent Health (ARDT) 1.2%, National Healthcare (NHC) 9.0%). On return on invested capital, National Healthcare (NHC) leads (Ardent Health (ARDT) 7.4%, National Healthcare (NHC) 10.0%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year National Healthcare (NHC) returned the most: Ardent Health (ARDT) -20.9%, Auna (AUNA) -22.4%, National Healthcare (NHC) +73.2%. Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Ardent Health (ARDT) 0.00%, Auna (AUNA) 0.00%, National Healthcare (NHC) 0.01%. Ardent Health (ARDT) and Auna (AUNA) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, National Healthcare (NHC) has been the steadiest (Ardent Health (ARDT) 59.6%, Auna (AUNA) 44.1%, National Healthcare (NHC) 34.7%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, ARDT, AUNA and NHC?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, National Healthcare (NHC) leads on 7. 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.