EHC vs HCA vs CYH Stock Comparison

Encompass Health, HCA Healthcare and Community Health Systems Prices as of Oct 27, 2026 Peers: Industry group
EHC Encompass Health Corp
$121.52 -1.6% 1M -4.5% 1Y
Market cap
$11.99B
P/E
19.3x
Revenue (TTM)
$6.21B
Div. yield
0.64%
Hospitals Healthcare
7 wins
HCA HCA Healthcare, Inc.
$449.78 +3.2% 1M -3.9% 1Y
Market cap
$98.04B
P/E
14.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$78.70B
Div. yield
0.68%
Hospitals Healthcare
4 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Encompass Health leads on 7 of the 12 questions below (Encompass Health 7, HCA Healthcare 4, Community Health Systems 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionEHCHCACYHLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $11.99B $98.04B $400.47M HCA
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 19.3x 14.6x 1.4x CYH
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 20.5x 14.9x — HCA
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +9.5% +5.8% -5.3% EHC
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 10.0% — 2.4% EHC
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 15.4% — 14.1% EHC
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 1.7x — 5.2x EHC
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.64% 0.68% 0.00% HCA
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -4.5% -3.9% -35.6% HCA
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +13.8%/yr +12.4%/yr -25.0%/yr EHC
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 29.5% 31.1% 50.3% EHC
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 65/100 61/100 53/100 EHC

Percentile Scorecard

EHCHCACYH

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

AxisEHCHCACYH
Valuation 78 #21 of 92 88 #12 of 92 89 #11 of 92
Growth 56 #39 of 87 23 #67 of 87 33 #59 of 87
Profitability 92 #8 of 86 74 #23 of 86 72 #25 of 86
Financial Health 38 #61 of 97 – 19 #79 of 97
Shareholder Returns 64 #21 of 56 58 #24 of 56 –
Overall 65 61 53
  • EHC ranked among 102 companies in Healthcare Providers
  • HCA ranked among 102 companies in Healthcare Providers
  • CYH ranked among 102 companies in Healthcare Providers

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodEHCHCACYHSPY
1 month -1.6%+3.2%-3.1% -0.2%
3 months +4.8%+7.5%+1.4% +3.9%
6 months +19.5%+4.1%-1.4% +8.2%
Year to date +14.5%-3.7%-9.0% +12.9%
1 year -4.5%-3.9%-35.6% +12.3%
3 years +99.7%+99.6%+35.9% +87.4%
3 years, per year +25.9%+25.9%+10.8% +23.3%
5 years +90.4%+79.4%-76.3% +67.9%
5 years, per year +13.8%+12.4%-25.0% +10.9%
10 years +217.0%+467.1%-43.8% +261.1%
10 years, per year +12.2%+19.0%-5.6% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureEHCHCACYHSPY
Volatility, 1Y 29.5%31.1%50.3% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 24.9%30.7%55.5% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.020.110.95 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.15-0.12-0.71 0.97
Max drawdown, 5Y -39.1%-39.7%-86.3% -25.4%
From 52-week high -5.0%-17.5%-35.6% -1.2%
52-week high $127.92$545.13$4.41 $779.14
52-week low $93.83$361.32$2.49 $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.

MultipleEHCHCACYH
P/E now vs peer median 19.3xmedian 24.6x 14.6xmedian 24.6x 1.4xmedian 24.6x
P/S now vs peer median 1.9xmedian 1.6x 1.2xmedian 1.6x 0.0xmedian 1.6x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 9.7xmedian 14.6x —median 14.6x 5.5xmedian 14.6x
P/FCF now vs peer median 29.0xmedian 21.6x 15.7xmedian 21.6x -2.2xmedian 21.6x
P/B now vs peer median 3.5xmedian 3.2x -12.1xmedian 3.2x -0.3xmedian 3.2x
PEG now vs peer median 0.74median 0.66 1.08median 0.66 -0.16median 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 monthsEHCHCACYH
Revenue $6.21B $78.70B $11.98B
Gross profit – – $10.38B
Operating income – – $1.59B
Net income $833.30M $7.80B $410.00M
Free cash flow $413.40M – -$185.00M
EPS (diluted) $6.21 $30.41 $2.09
Cash & equivalents $107.70M $908.00M $149.00M
Total debt $2.63B – $9.58B
Shares (diluted) 100.00M 222.83M 136.51M
Enterprise value $12.45B $101.51B -$523.53M

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
MetricEHCHCACYH
P/E 19.3x 14.6x 1.4x
P/FCF 29.0x 15.7x -2.2x
P/Operating cash flow 9.9x 8.8x 3.2x
P/S 1.9x 1.2x 0.0x
P/B 3.5x -12.1x -0.3x
P/Tangible book 3.9x -12.1x -0.3x
EV/EBITDA 9.7x – 5.5x
EV/EBIT 12.6x – 7.2x
EV/Revenue 2.3x 1.2x 0.8x
EV/FCF 35.1x – -53.1x
EV/Operating cash flow 12.0x 8.8x 78.0x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.74 1.08 -0.16

Growth

14 metrics
MetricEHCHCACYH
Revenue growth (1Y) 9.5% 5.8% -5.3%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 10.7% 7.6% 27.7%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – – -3.0%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – – –
Operating income growth (1Y) – – 93.7%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) – – –
Net income growth (1Y) 20.3% 6.8% 1,179%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 26.2% 4.3% -1.4%
EPS growth (1Y) 21.5% 13.2% 282.9%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 26.0% 13.6% -8.4%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 9.7% -13.0% -74.3%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 21.4% 6.4% -19.0%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -5.9% – -236.0%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 62.3% – 4.7%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricEHCHCACYH
Gross margin – – 86.6%
EBITDA margin 24.2% – 15.0%
Operating margin – – 13.3%
Pretax margin 16.6% – 3.9%
Net margin 10.0% – 2.4%
FCF margin 6.7% – -1.5%
Operating cash flow margin 19.5% 14.2% 1.1%
Return on equity 24.8% – –
Return on assets 11.3% – 3.2%
Return on invested capital 15.4% – 14.1%
Return on capital employed 17.7% – 12.8%
Asset turnover 0.8x – 0.9x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.5x 1.4x 0.3x
Stock comp / revenue 0.9% 0.5% 0.1%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricEHCHCACYH
Debt / assets 35.3% – 78.7%
Debt / equity 0.8x – -6.9x
Net debt / EBITDA 1.7x – 5.2x
Debt / FCF 6.4x – -51.8x
Liabilities / assets 54.4% – 111.4%
Equity / assets 45.6% – -11.4%
Interest coverage 9.2x – 1.6x
Current ratio 1.2x – 1.5x
Quick ratio 0.9x – 1.1x
Cash ratio 0.1x – 0.1x
Altman Z-score – – 1.07

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricEHCHCACYH
Dividend yield 0.6% 0.7% –
Net buyback yield 2.1% – –
Shareholder yield 2.7% 0.7% 0.0%
Payout ratio (earnings) 9.0% – –
Payout ratio (FCF) 18.2% – –
Dividend growth (1Y) 12.1% – –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 0.9% – –

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.

ConsensusEHCHCACYH
Forward P/E 20.5xFY2026 14.9xFY2026 –
EPS, next fiscal year $5.94FY2026 $30.21FY2026 $-1.16FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +9.0%FY2026 +7.1%FY2026 -197.5%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +7.1% +11.0% –
Revenue, next fiscal year $6.62BFY2026 $73.03BFY2026 –
Revenue growth, next FY +11.5%FY2026 -3.4%FY2026 –
Revenue growth, the year after +9.2% +18.8% –

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersEHCHCACYH
Held by institutions 96.0% 59.5% 82.1%
Institutions holding 595 1,333 179
Change in shares held, QoQ -0.8% +0.3% +6.6%
Institutions buying 292 567 96
Institutions selling 217 563 52
Buyers to sellers 1.35 1.01 1.85

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.

EHCHCACYH
EHC 1.00 0.29 0.29
HCA 0.29 1.00 0.26
CYH 0.29 0.26 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, EHC, HCA and CYH?

HCA Healthcare (HCA) is the largest by market capitalisation: Encompass Health (EHC) $11.99B, HCA Healthcare (HCA) $98.04B, Community Health Systems (CYH) $400.47M.

Which stock is cheaper, EHC, HCA and CYH?

Community Health Systems (CYH) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Encompass Health (EHC) 19.3x, HCA Healthcare (HCA) 14.6x, Community Health Systems (CYH) 1.4x). On next year's consensus earnings, HCA Healthcare (HCA) is cheapest (Encompass Health (EHC) 20.5x, HCA Healthcare (HCA) 14.9x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Encompass Health (EHC) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Encompass Health (EHC) +9.5%, HCA Healthcare (HCA) +5.8%, Community Health Systems (CYH) -5.3%.

Which company is more profitable?

Encompass Health (EHC) has the highest net margin (Encompass Health (EHC) 10.0%, Community Health Systems (CYH) 2.4%). On return on invested capital, Encompass Health (EHC) leads (Encompass Health (EHC) 15.4%, Community Health Systems (CYH) 14.1%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year HCA Healthcare (HCA) returned the most: Encompass Health (EHC) -4.5%, HCA Healthcare (HCA) -3.9%, Community Health Systems (CYH) -35.6%. Over five years, Encompass Health (EHC) compounded fastest (Encompass Health (EHC) +13.8%/yr, HCA Healthcare (HCA) +12.4%/yr, Community Health Systems (CYH) -25.0%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

HCA Healthcare (HCA) has the highest dividend yield: Encompass Health (EHC) 0.64%, HCA Healthcare (HCA) 0.68%, Community Health Systems (CYH) 0.00%. Community Health Systems (CYH) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Encompass Health (EHC) has been the steadiest (Encompass Health (EHC) 29.5%, HCA Healthcare (HCA) 31.1%, Community Health Systems (CYH) 50.3%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, EHC, HCA and CYH?

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