CHE vs ENSG vs GRDN Stock Comparison

Chemed, Ensign and Guardian Pharmacy Services Prices as of Oct 27, 2026 Peers: Industry group
CHE Chemed Corp
$508.35 -0.6% 1M +16.4% 1Y
Market cap
$7.23B
P/E
25.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$2.66B
Div. yield
–
Home Health and Senior Care Healthcare
1 win
ENSG Ensign Group, Inc
$169.50 -3.2% 1M -9.1% 1Y
Market cap
$10.55B
P/E
26.4x
Revenue (TTM)
$5.67B
Div. yield
–
Home Health and Senior Care Healthcare
5 wins

Head to Head

9 decided of 12

Ensign leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (Ensign 5, Guardian Pharmacy Services 3, Chemed 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionCHEENSGGRDNLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $7.23B $10.55B $5.08M ENSG
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 25.6x 26.4x 0.1x GRDN
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 19.2x 20.4x 31.1x CHE
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +5.2% +17.5% +10.3% ENSG
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months — 7.0% 4.5% ENSG
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — 14.3% — –
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — -0.3x — –
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +16.4% -9.1% +36.2% GRDN
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +2.6%/yr +17.4%/yr — ENSG
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 29.8% 28.1% 40.5% ENSG
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 43/100 65/100 94/100 GRDN

Percentile Scorecard

CHEENSGGRDN

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

AxisCHEENSGGRDN
Valuation 45 #51 of 92 73 #26 of 92 100 #1 of 25
Growth 14 #75 of 87 62 #34 of 87 87 #4 of 24
Profitability 62 #33 of 86 75 #22 of 86 100 #1 of 24
Financial Health 48 #51 of 97 72 #28 of 97 88 #4 of 26
Shareholder Returns 47 #30 of 56 42 #33 of 56 –
Overall 43 65 94
  • CHE ranked among 102 companies in Healthcare Providers
  • ENSG ranked among 102 companies in Healthcare Providers
  • GRDN ranked among 27 companies in Healthcare Payers and Distributors

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodCHEENSGGRDNSPY
1 month -0.6%-3.2%-4.0% -0.2%
3 months -1.6%-7.4%-5.5% +3.9%
6 months +20.7%-10.0%+5.2% +8.2%
Year to date +18.8%-2.7%+31.5% +12.9%
1 year +16.4%-9.1%+36.2% +12.3%
3 years -10.0%+74.2%— +87.4%
3 years, per year -3.4%+20.3%— +23.3%
5 years +13.7%+122.5%— +67.9%
5 years, per year +2.6%+17.4%— +10.9%
10 years +266.9%+887.2%— +261.1%
10 years, per year +13.9%+25.7%— +13.7%

Risk

MeasureCHEENSGGRDNSPY
Volatility, 1Y 29.8%28.1%40.5% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 33.2%24.9%38.6% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.00-0.070.57 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.55-0.320.89 0.97
Max drawdown, 5Y -43.4%-31.8%-27.2% -25.4%
From 52-week high -8.0%-21.5%-14.9% -1.2%
52-week high $552.43$215.83$46.49 $779.14
52-week low $368.59$147.13$27.03 $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.

MultipleCHEENSGGRDN
P/E now vs peer median 23.7xmedian 24.6x 24.6xmedian 24.6x 0.1xmedian 23.9x
P/S now vs peer median 2.5xmedian 1.6x 1.7xmedian 1.6x 0.0xmedian 0.3x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median —median 14.6x 15.4xmedian 14.6x -0.8xmedian 13.4x
P/FCF now vs peer median 20.7xmedian 21.6x 19.4xmedian 21.6x 0.1xmedian 15.5x
P/B now vs peer median 7.7xmedian 3.2x 3.9xmedian 3.2x 0.0xmedian 2.5x
PEG now vs peer median 2.38median 0.66 1.55median 0.66 —median 1.34

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 monthsCHEENSGGRDN
Revenue $2.66B $5.67B $1.46B
Gross profit – $1.20B $316.58M
Operating income $370.86M $509.16M $85.44M
Net income $282.40M $399.32M $65.91M
Free cash flow – $509.91M $75.29M
EPS (diluted) $21.40 $6.73 $1,032.46
Cash & equivalents $48.43M $337.59M $89.81M
Total debt – $198.72M –
Shares (diluted) 13.20M 59.30M 63.84K
Enterprise value $7.23B $8.67B -$251.72M

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
MetricCHEENSGGRDN
P/E 23.7x 24.6x 0.1x
P/FCF 20.7x 19.4x 0.1x
P/Operating cash flow 18.3x 14.2x 0.1x
P/S 2.5x 1.7x 0.0x
P/B 7.7x 3.9x 0.0x
P/Tangible book 8.5x 3.9x 0.0x
EV/EBITDA – 15.4x -0.8x
EV/EBIT – 19.0x -1.0x
EV/Revenue 2.5x 1.7x -0.1x
EV/FCF – 19.0x -1.1x
EV/Operating cash flow 18.3x 13.9x -0.9x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 2.38 1.55 –

Growth

14 metrics
MetricCHEENSGGRDN
Revenue growth (1Y) 5.2% 17.5% 10.3%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 6.1% 16.8% –
Gross profit growth (1Y) – 21.7% 21.5%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – 16.3% –
Operating income growth (1Y) 5.5% 26.6% 237.2%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 6.1% 18.3% –
Net income growth (1Y) 1.3% 21.6% 172.0%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 4.9% 17.2% –
EPS growth (1Y) 10.6% 20.9% 142,625%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 10.0% 15.9% –
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -13.5% 44.5% 71.4%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 4.1% 26.8% –
Free cash flow growth (1Y) – 76.1% 206.9%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) – 29.2% –

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricCHEENSGGRDN
Gross margin – 21.2% 21.6%
EBITDA margin – 11.1% 7.4%
Operating margin – 9.0% 5.8%
Pretax margin – 9.4% 6.5%
Net margin – 7.0% 4.5%
FCF margin – 9.0% 5.1%
Operating cash flow margin 13.6% 12.3% 6.8%
Return on equity – 16.0% 27.1%
Return on assets – 6.8% 15.3%
Return on invested capital – 14.3% –
Return on capital employed – 10.4% 30.4%
Asset turnover 1.6x 1.0x 3.4x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.3x 1.7x 1.5x
Stock comp / revenue 1.2% 1.1% 0.7%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricCHEENSGGRDN
Debt / assets – 3.3% –
Debt / equity – 0.1x –
Net debt / EBITDA – -0.3x –
Debt / FCF – 0.4x –
Liabilities / assets 49.9% 57.3% 41.9%
Equity / assets 50.1% 42.7% 58.1%
Interest coverage – 62.8x 135.4x
Current ratio 1.1x 1.2x 1.7x
Quick ratio – 1.1x 1.3x
Cash ratio – 0.4x 0.6x
Altman Z-score – 3.47 4.54

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricCHEENSGGRDN
Dividend yield 0.5% 0.2% –
Net buyback yield – 0.2% –
Shareholder yield 0.5% 0.4% –
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.

ConsensusCHEENSGGRDN
Forward P/E 19.2xFY2026 20.4xFY2026 31.1xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $26.52FY2026 $8.29FY2026 $1.27FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +23.1%FY2026 +26.2%FY2026 +18.7%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +8.0% -1.8% +17.3%
Revenue, next fiscal year $2.66BFY2026 $5.76BFY2026 $1.41BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +5.1%FY2026 +13.9%FY2026 -2.8%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +15.2% +16.9% +2.1%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersCHEENSGGRDN
Held by institutions 100.0% 89.8% 46.1%
Institutions holding 527 547 189
Change in shares held, QoQ +2.8% -1.2% +3.8%
Institutions buying 276 250 109
Institutions selling 186 213 54
Buyers to sellers 1.48 1.17 2.02

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.

CHEENSGGRDN
CHE 1.00 0.34 0.19
ENSG 0.34 1.00 0.16
GRDN 0.19 0.16 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, CHE, ENSG and GRDN?

Ensign (ENSG) is the largest by market capitalisation: Chemed (CHE) $7.23B, Ensign (ENSG) $10.55B, Guardian Pharmacy Services (GRDN) $5.08M.

Which stock is cheaper, CHE, ENSG and GRDN?

Guardian Pharmacy Services (GRDN) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Chemed (CHE) 25.6x, Ensign (ENSG) 26.4x, Guardian Pharmacy Services (GRDN) 0.1x). On next year's consensus earnings, Chemed (CHE) is cheapest (Chemed (CHE) 19.2x, Ensign (ENSG) 20.4x, Guardian Pharmacy Services (GRDN) 31.1x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Ensign (ENSG) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Chemed (CHE) +5.2%, Ensign (ENSG) +17.5%, Guardian Pharmacy Services (GRDN) +10.3%.

Which company is more profitable?

Ensign (ENSG) has the highest net margin (Ensign (ENSG) 7.0%, Guardian Pharmacy Services (GRDN) 4.5%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Guardian Pharmacy Services (GRDN) returned the most: Chemed (CHE) +16.4%, Ensign (ENSG) -9.1%, Guardian Pharmacy Services (GRDN) +36.2%. Over five years, Ensign (ENSG) compounded fastest (Chemed (CHE) +2.6%/yr, Ensign (ENSG) +17.4%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Ensign (ENSG) has been the steadiest (Chemed (CHE) 29.8%, Ensign (ENSG) 28.1%, Guardian Pharmacy Services (GRDN) 40.5%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, CHE, ENSG and GRDN?

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