ARDT vs CYH vs UHS Stock Comparison

Ardent Health, Community Health Systems and Universal Health Services Prices as of Oct 29, 2026 Peers: Industry group
ARDT Ardent Health, Inc.
$12.28 +16.0% 1M -18.2% 1Y
Market cap
$1.70B
P/E
21.7x
Revenue (TTM)
$6.41B
Div. yield
–
Hospitals Healthcare
5 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Universal Health Services leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (Universal Health Services 5, Ardent Health 5, Community Health Systems 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionARDTCYHUHSLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $1.70B $325.98M $10.47B UHS
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 21.7x 4.7x 7.2x CYH
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 13.2x — 7.6x UHS
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +3.3% -7.8% +8.0% UHS
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 1.2% 0.6% — ARDT
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 7.4% 7.0% — ARDT
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 0.9x 5.5x — ARDT
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -18.2% -42.8% -21.6% ARDT
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years — -28.7%/yr +7.3%/yr UHS
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 59.6% 51.1% 33.2% UHS
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 68/100 47/100 66/100 ARDT

Percentile Scorecard

ARDTCYHUHS

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

AxisARDTCYHUHS
Valuation 99 #2 of 92 90 #10 of 92 98 #3 of 92
Growth 45 #48 of 87 16 #73 of 87 50 #44 of 87
Profitability 72 #25 of 86 62 #33 of 86 78 #20 of 86
Financial Health 57 #42 of 97 20 #78 of 97 –
Shareholder Returns – – 39 #34 of 55
Overall 68 47 66
  • ARDT ranked among 102 companies in Healthcare Providers
  • CYH ranked among 102 companies in Healthcare Providers
  • UHS ranked among 102 companies in Healthcare Providers

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodARDTCYHUHSSPY
1 month +16.0%-17.5%+0.5% +0.7%
3 months +14.4%-13.0%+8.2% +3.7%
6 months +25.8%-15.1%+5.0% +7.1%
Year to date +39.1%-22.8%-19.0% +12.8%
1 year -18.2%-42.8%-21.6% +11.9%
3 years —+14.8%+42.6% +85.2%
3 years, per year —+4.7%+12.6% +22.8%
5 years —-81.6%+42.3% +67.6%
5 years, per year —-28.7%+7.3% +10.9%
10 years —-53.9%+46.5% +262.0%
10 years, per year —-7.5%+3.9% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureARDTCYHUHSSPY
Volatility, 1Y 59.6%51.1%33.2% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 74.6%56.9%35.3% 12.6%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.160.970.08 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.31-0.84-0.65 0.94
Max drawdown, 5Y -61.2%-86.3%-43.5% -25.4%
From 52-week high -18.2%-42.8%-27.7% -1.2%
52-week high $15.01$4.21$244.18 $779.14
52-week low $7.83$2.41$141.17 $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.

MultipleARDTCYHUHS
P/E now vs peer median 22.2xmedian 26.0x 4.7xmedian 26.0x 7.2xmedian 26.0x
P/S now vs peer median 0.3xmedian 1.6x 0.0xmedian 1.6x 0.5xmedian 1.6x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 5.0xmedian 15.4x 5.7xmedian 15.4x —median 15.4x
P/FCF now vs peer median 5.7xmedian 21.5x -2.8xmedian 21.5x 10.7xmedian 21.5x
P/B now vs peer median 1.0xmedian 3.2x -0.2xmedian 3.2x 1.2xmedian 3.2x
PEG now vs peer median —median 0.87 -0.11median 0.87 0.20median 0.87

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 monthsARDTCYHUHS
Revenue $6.41B $11.65B $18.35B
Gross profit – $10.06B –
Operating income – $1.23B $1.99B
Net income $125.32M $189.00M $1.48B
Free cash flow $304.76M -$122.00M –
EPS (diluted) $0.55 $0.51 $24.40
Cash & equivalents $724.48M $155.00M $168.75M
Total debt $1.10B $9.59B –
Shares (diluted) 143.05M 135.54M 59.91M
Enterprise value -$954.37M -$950.02M $10.47B

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
MetricARDTCYHUHS
P/E 22.2x 4.7x 7.2x
P/FCF 5.7x -2.8x 10.7x
P/Operating cash flow 3.4x 1.6x 4.4x
P/S 0.3x 0.0x 0.5x
P/B 1.0x -0.2x 1.2x
P/Tangible book 1.1x -0.2x 1.2x
EV/EBITDA 5.0x 5.7x –
EV/EBIT 8.2x 7.7x –
EV/Revenue 0.3x 0.8x 0.5x
EV/FCF 7.0x -80.1x –
EV/Operating cash flow 4.1x 46.3x 4.4x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) – -0.11 0.20

Growth

14 metrics
MetricARDTCYHUHS
Revenue growth (1Y) 3.3% -7.8% 8.0%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) – 66.5% 9.4%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – -5.7% –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – – –
Operating income growth (1Y) – 48.3% 2.2%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) – – 21.7%
Net income growth (1Y) -61.3% -61.3% 6.0%
Net income CAGR (3Y) – -20.5% 30.4%
EPS growth (1Y) -69.6% -81.2% 12.9%
EPS CAGR (3Y) – -42.2% 36.0%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 70.3% -57.2% 5.5%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) – 17.8% 22.7%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 181.8% -185.3% –
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) – 30.2% –

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricARDTCYHUHS
Gross margin – 86.3% –
EBITDA margin 6.7% 14.6% –
Operating margin – 10.5% –
Pretax margin 3.2% 3.5% –
Net margin 1.2% 0.6% –
FCF margin 4.8% -1.0% –
Operating cash flow margin 8.0% 1.8% 11.2%
Return on equity 9.7% – 19.5%
Return on assets 3.2% 1.6% 9.0%
Return on invested capital 7.4% 7.0% –
Return on capital employed 6.0% 12.5% –
Asset turnover 1.2x 1.0x 1.1x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 4.1x 1.1x 1.4x
Stock comp / revenue 0.6% 0.1% 0.5%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricARDTCYHUHS
Debt / assets 20.9% 79.2% –
Debt / equity 0.6x -6.4x –
Net debt / EBITDA 0.9x 5.5x –
Debt / FCF 3.6x -78.6x –
Liabilities / assets 66.9% 112.3% –
Equity / assets 33.1% -12.3% 44.6%
Interest coverage 5.1x 1.5x –
Current ratio 2.1x 1.5x 1.4x
Quick ratio 1.5x 1.1x –
Cash ratio 0.7x 0.1x –
Altman Z-score 2.06 1.00 –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricARDTCYHUHS
Dividend yield – – 0.5%
Net buyback yield – – –
Shareholder yield – 0.0% 0.5%
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.

ConsensusARDTCYHUHS
Forward P/E 13.2xFY2026 – 7.6xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $0.93FY2026 $-1.16FY2026 $23.16FY2026
EPS growth, next FY -3.1%FY2026 -197.5%FY2026 +6.5%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +17.2% – +8.6%
Revenue, next fiscal year $6.84BFY2026 – $18.14BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +8.2%FY2026 – +4.5%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +1.4% – +10.1%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersARDTCYHUHS
Held by institutions 76.4% 82.1% 87.6%
Institutions holding 137 179 598
Change in shares held, QoQ +1.4% +6.6% +1.2%
Institutions buying 87 96 289
Institutions selling 36 52 236
Buyers to sellers 2.42 1.85 1.22

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.

ARDTCYHUHS
ARDT 1.00 0.27 0.27
CYH 0.27 1.00 0.23
UHS 0.27 0.23 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, ARDT, CYH and UHS?

Universal Health Services (UHS) is the largest by market capitalisation: Ardent Health (ARDT) $1.70B, Community Health Systems (CYH) $325.98M, Universal Health Services (UHS) $10.47B.

Which stock is cheaper, ARDT, CYH and UHS?

Community Health Systems (CYH) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Ardent Health (ARDT) 21.7x, Community Health Systems (CYH) 4.7x, Universal Health Services (UHS) 7.2x). On next year's consensus earnings, Universal Health Services (UHS) is cheapest (Ardent Health (ARDT) 13.2x, Universal Health Services (UHS) 7.6x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Universal Health Services (UHS) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Ardent Health (ARDT) +3.3%, Community Health Systems (CYH) -7.8%, Universal Health Services (UHS) +8.0%.

Which company is more profitable?

Ardent Health (ARDT) has the highest net margin (Ardent Health (ARDT) 1.2%, Community Health Systems (CYH) 0.6%). On return on invested capital, Ardent Health (ARDT) leads (Ardent Health (ARDT) 7.4%, Community Health Systems (CYH) 7.0%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Ardent Health (ARDT) returned the most: Ardent Health (ARDT) -18.2%, Community Health Systems (CYH) -42.8%, Universal Health Services (UHS) -21.6%. Over five years, Universal Health Services (UHS) compounded fastest (Community Health Systems (CYH) -28.7%/yr, Universal Health Services (UHS) +7.3%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Universal Health Services (UHS) has been the steadiest (Ardent Health (ARDT) 59.6%, Community Health Systems (CYH) 51.1%, Universal Health Services (UHS) 33.2%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

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