CHE vs PACS vs NHC Stock Comparison

Chemed, Pacs and National Healthcare Prices as of Oct 27, 2026 Peers: Industry group
CHE Chemed Corp
$508.35 -0.6% 1M +16.4% 1Y
Market cap
$7.31B
P/E
25.9x
Revenue (TTM)
$2.66B
Div. yield
–
Home Health and Senior Care Healthcare
2 wins
PACS PACS Group, Inc.
$47.88 +16.0% 1M +280.0% 1Y
Market cap
$7.81B
P/E
29.0x
Revenue (TTM)
$5.55B
Div. yield
–
Home Health and Senior Care Healthcare
4 wins
NHC National Healthcare Corp
$212.79 -6.1% 1M +76.8% 1Y
Market cap
$3.34B
P/E
23.8x
Revenue (TTM)
$1.56B
Div. yield
0.01%
Home Health and Senior Care Healthcare
4 wins

Head to Head

10 decided of 12

Pacs leads on 4 of the 12 questions below (Pacs 4, National Healthcare 4, Chemed 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionCHEPACSNHCLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $7.31B $7.81B $3.34B PACS
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 25.9x 29.0x 23.8x NHC
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 19.2x 21.0x — CHE
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +5.2% +15.2% +6.9% PACS
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months — 4.8% 9.0% NHC
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — 21.8% 10.0% PACS
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — 0.2x — –
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.01% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +16.4% +280.0% +76.8% PACS
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +2.6%/yr — +25.5%/yr NHC
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 29.8% 81.5% 34.7% CHE
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 43/100 64/100 78/100 NHC

Percentile Scorecard

CHEPACSNHC

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

AxisCHEPACSNHC
Valuation 45 #51 of 92 67 #31 of 92 77 #22 of 92
Growth 14 #75 of 87 74 #23 of 87 79 #19 of 87
Profitability 62 #33 of 86 71 #26 of 86 80 #18 of 86
Financial Health 48 #51 of 97 44 #55 of 97 88 #13 of 97
Shareholder Returns 47 #30 of 56 – 67 #19 of 56
Overall 43 64 78
  • CHE ranked among 102 companies in Healthcare Providers
  • PACS 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

PeriodCHEPACSNHCSPY
1 month -0.6%+16.0%-6.1% -0.2%
3 months -1.6%+1.9%-7.8% +3.9%
6 months +20.7%+44.5%+21.8% +8.2%
Year to date +18.8%+24.7%+55.2% +12.9%
1 year +16.4%+280.0%+76.8% +12.3%
3 years -10.0%—+221.9% +87.4%
3 years, per year -3.4%—+47.7% +23.3%
5 years +13.7%—+211.4% +67.9%
5 years, per year +2.6%—+25.5% +10.9%
10 years +266.9%—+228.6% +261.1%
10 years, per year +13.9%—+12.6% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureCHEPACSNHCSPY
Volatility, 1Y 29.8%81.5%34.7% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 33.2%48.6%32.3% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.000.380.13 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.553.442.21 0.97
Max drawdown, 5Y -43.4%-82.0%-34.4% -25.4%
From 52-week high -8.0%-1.8%-14.0% -1.2%
52-week high $552.43$48.74$247.31 $779.14
52-week low $368.59$10.58$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.

MultipleCHEPACSNHC
P/E now vs peer median 23.7xmedian 24.6x 28.1xmedian 24.6x 23.7xmedian 24.6x
P/S now vs peer median 2.5xmedian 1.6x 1.4xmedian 1.6x 2.1xmedian 1.6x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median —median 14.6x 16.0xmedian 14.6x 16.4xmedian 14.6x
P/FCF now vs peer median 20.7xmedian 21.6x 62.4xmedian 21.6x 22.7xmedian 21.6x
P/B now vs peer median 7.7xmedian 3.2x 6.8xmedian 3.2x 3.0xmedian 3.2x
PEG now vs peer median 2.38median 0.66 —median 0.66 0.38median 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 monthsCHEPACSNHC
Revenue $2.66B $5.55B $1.56B
Gross profit – $1.30B –
Operating income $370.86M $410.32M $144.68M
Net income $282.40M $269.17M $142.84M
Free cash flow – $121.47M $146.53M
EPS (diluted) $21.40 $1.66 $8.84
Cash & equivalents $48.43M $164.45M $39.21M
Total debt – $246.09M –
Shares (diluted) 13.20M 161.99M 15.86M
Enterprise value $7.31B $6.84B $2.32B

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
MetricCHEPACSNHC
P/E 23.7x 28.1x 23.7x
P/FCF 20.7x 62.4x 22.7x
P/Operating cash flow 18.3x 13.2x 17.7x
P/S 2.5x 1.4x 2.1x
P/B 7.7x 6.8x 3.0x
P/Tangible book 8.5x 6.8x 3.0x
EV/EBITDA – 16.0x 16.4x
EV/EBIT – 18.7x 21.6x
EV/Revenue 2.5x 1.4x 2.0x
EV/FCF – 63.1x 21.3x
EV/Operating cash flow 18.3x 13.4x 16.5x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 2.38 – 0.38

Growth

14 metrics
MetricCHEPACSNHC
Revenue growth (1Y) 5.2% 15.2% 6.9%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 6.1% – 12.8%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – 33.3% –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – – –
Operating income growth (1Y) 5.5% 83.5% 24.1%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 6.1% – 57.4%
Net income growth (1Y) 1.3% 103.5% 35.9%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 4.9% – 68.9%
EPS growth (1Y) 10.6% 107.9% 31.6%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 10.0% – 61.9%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -13.5% 20.3% 26.7%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 4.1% – 44.1%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) – -58.3% 23.2%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) – – 58.0%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricCHEPACSNHC
Gross margin – 23.5% –
EBITDA margin – 8.6% 12.2%
Operating margin – 7.4% 9.3%
Pretax margin – 6.9% 11.9%
Net margin – 4.8% 9.0%
FCF margin – 2.2% 9.4%
Operating cash flow margin 13.6% 10.3% 12.1%
Return on equity – 24.9% 12.8%
Return on assets – 4.8% 9.3%
Return on invested capital – 21.8% 10.0%
Return on capital employed – 8.9% 11.2%
Asset turnover 1.6x 1.0x 1.0x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.3x 2.1x 1.3x
Stock comp / revenue 1.2% 1.3% 0.3%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricCHEPACSNHC
Debt / assets – 4.4% –
Debt / equity – 0.2x –
Net debt / EBITDA – 0.2x –
Debt / FCF – 2.0x –
Liabilities / assets 49.9% 80.3% 26.6%
Equity / assets 50.1% 19.7% 73.4%
Interest coverage – 13.9x 56.6x
Current ratio 1.1x 0.9x 1.9x
Quick ratio – 0.8x 1.5x
Cash ratio – 0.2x 0.9x
Altman Z-score – 2.32 7.18

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricCHEPACSNHC
Dividend yield 0.5% – 1.2%
Net buyback yield – – 0.1%
Shareholder yield 0.5% – 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.

ConsensusCHEPACSNHC
Forward P/E 19.2xFY2026 21.0xFY2026 –
EPS, next fiscal year $26.52FY2026 $2.28FY2026 –
EPS growth, next FY +23.1%FY2026 +23.9%FY2026 –
EPS growth, the year after +8.0% +25.4% –
Revenue, next fiscal year $2.66BFY2026 $6.17BFY2026 –
Revenue growth, next FY +5.1%FY2026 +16.6%FY2026 –
Revenue growth, the year after +15.2% +1.1% –

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersCHEPACSNHC
Held by institutions 100.0% 31.3% 65.3%
Institutions holding 527 239 250
Change in shares held, QoQ +2.8% +5.8% -0.6%
Institutions buying 276 155 136
Institutions selling 186 54 72
Buyers to sellers 1.48 2.87 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.

CHEPACSNHC
CHE 1.00 0.01 0.24
PACS 0.01 1.00 0.13
NHC 0.24 0.13 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, CHE, PACS and NHC?

Pacs (PACS) is the largest by market capitalisation: Chemed (CHE) $7.31B, Pacs (PACS) $7.81B, National Healthcare (NHC) $3.34B.

Which stock is cheaper, CHE, PACS and NHC?

National Healthcare (NHC) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Chemed (CHE) 25.9x, Pacs (PACS) 29.0x, National Healthcare (NHC) 23.8x). On next year's consensus earnings, Chemed (CHE) is cheapest (Chemed (CHE) 19.2x, Pacs (PACS) 21.0x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Pacs (PACS) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Chemed (CHE) +5.2%, Pacs (PACS) +15.2%, National Healthcare (NHC) +6.9%.

Which company is more profitable?

National Healthcare (NHC) has the highest net margin (Pacs (PACS) 4.8%, National Healthcare (NHC) 9.0%). On return on invested capital, Pacs (PACS) leads (Pacs (PACS) 21.8%, National Healthcare (NHC) 10.0%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Pacs (PACS) returned the most: Chemed (CHE) +16.4%, Pacs (PACS) +280.0%, National Healthcare (NHC) +76.8%. Over five years, National Healthcare (NHC) compounded fastest (Chemed (CHE) +2.6%/yr, National Healthcare (NHC) +25.5%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Chemed (CHE) 0.00%, Pacs (PACS) 0.00%, National Healthcare (NHC) 0.01%. Chemed (CHE) and Pacs (PACS) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Chemed (CHE) has been the steadiest (Chemed (CHE) 29.8%, Pacs (PACS) 81.5%, National Healthcare (NHC) 34.7%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, CHE, PACS 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, Pacs (PACS) 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.