EHC vs NHC vs THC Stock Comparison

Encompass Health, National Healthcare and Tenet Healthcare Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
EHC Encompass Health Corp
$124.11 +0.5% 1M -1.6% 1Y
Market cap
$12.01B
P/E
19.3x
Revenue (TTM)
$6.21B
Div. yield
0.01%
Hospitals Healthcare
3 wins
NHC National Healthcare Corp
$223.59 -1.4% 1M +82.2% 1Y
Market cap
$3.32B
P/E
23.7x
Revenue (TTM)
$1.56B
Div. yield
0.01%
Home Health and Senior Care Healthcare
2 wins
THC Tenet Healthcare Corp
$268.86 +3.5% 1M +27.8% 1Y
Market cap
$21.80B
P/E
9.7x
Revenue (TTM)
$21.81B
Div. yield
–
Hospitals Healthcare
7 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Tenet Healthcare leads on 7 of the 12 questions below (Tenet Healthcare 7, Encompass Health 3, National Healthcare 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionEHCNHCTHCLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $12.01B $3.32B $21.80B THC
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 19.3x 23.7x 9.7x THC
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 20.9x — 12.2x THC
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +9.5% +6.9% +5.4% EHC
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 10.0% 9.0% 10.3% THC
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 15.4% 10.0% 18.8% THC
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 1.7x — 2.0x EHC
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.01% 0.01% 0.00% NHC
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -1.6% +82.2% +27.8% NHC
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +13.6%/yr +27.4%/yr +30.8%/yr THC
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 29.5% 34.4% 42.2% EHC
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 64/100 77/100 77/100 THC

Percentile Scorecard

EHCNHCTHC

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

AxisEHCNHCTHC
Valuation 76 #23 of 93 73 #26 of 93 94 #7 of 93
Growth 55 #40 of 88 79 #19 of 88 74 #24 of 88
Profitability 90 #10 of 87 76 #22 of 87 97 #4 of 87
Financial Health 39 #61 of 100 88 #13 of 100 37 #63 of 100
Shareholder Returns 58 #24 of 56 67 #19 of 56 86 #9 of 56
Overall 64 77 77
  • EHC ranked among 103 companies in Healthcare Providers
  • NHC ranked among 103 companies in Healthcare Providers
  • THC ranked among 103 companies in Healthcare Providers

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodEHCNHCTHCSPY
1 month +0.5%-1.4%+3.5% -0.8%
3 months +9.0%-1.1%+10.5% +3.5%
6 months +23.0%+26.8%+44.9% +7.0%
Year to date +16.9%+63.1%+35.3% +12.2%
1 year -1.6%+82.2%+27.8% +13.0%
3 years +104.0%+238.3%+406.1% +86.3%
3 years, per year +26.8%+50.2%+71.8% +23.1%
5 years +89.0%+235.8%+283.2% +68.6%
5 years, per year +13.6%+27.4%+30.8% +11.0%
10 years +218.4%+240.7%+1,144.7% +258.0%
10 years, per year +12.3%+13.0%+28.7% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureEHCNHCTHCSPY
Volatility, 1Y 29.5%34.4%42.2% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 24.8%31.6%34.0% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.030.150.48 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.052.390.66 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -39.1%-34.4%-58.9% -25.4%
From 52-week high -3.0%-9.6%-4.2% -1.8%
52-week high $127.92$247.31$280.77 $779.14
52-week low $93.83$119.44$161.37 $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.

MultipleEHCNHCTHC
P/E now vs peer median 19.7xmedian 25.1x 24.9xmedian 25.1x 10.0xmedian 25.1x
P/S now vs peer median 2.0xmedian 1.6x 2.2xmedian 1.6x 1.0xmedian 1.6x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 9.8xmedian 14.5x 17.3xmedian 14.5x 6.0xmedian 14.5x
P/FCF now vs peer median 29.6xmedian 22.4x 23.9xmedian 22.4x 7.2xmedian 22.4x
P/B now vs peer median 3.6xmedian 3.1x 3.1xmedian 3.1x 3.3xmedian 3.1x
PEG now vs peer median 0.76median 0.66 0.40median 0.66 0.13median 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 monthsEHCNHCTHC
Revenue $6.21B $1.56B $21.81B
Operating income – $144.68M $4.54B
Net income $833.30M $142.84M $3.17B
Free cash flow $413.40M $146.53M $3.02B
EPS (diluted) $6.21 $8.84 $26.69
Cash & equivalents $107.70M $39.21M $2.17B
Total debt $2.63B – $13.25B
Shares (diluted) 100.00M 15.86M 83.96M
Enterprise value $11.67B $2.30B $10.80B

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
MetricEHCNHCTHC
P/E 19.7x 24.9x 10.0x
P/FCF 29.6x 23.9x 7.2x
P/Operating cash flow 10.1x 18.5x 5.4x
P/S 2.0x 2.2x 1.0x
P/B 3.6x 3.1x 3.3x
P/Tangible book 4.0x 3.2x 4.1x
EV/EBITDA 9.8x 17.3x 6.0x
EV/EBIT 12.8x 22.8x 7.2x
EV/Revenue 2.4x 2.1x 1.5x
EV/FCF 35.7x 22.5x 10.8x
EV/Operating cash flow 12.2x 17.4x 8.2x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.76 0.40 0.13

Growth

14 metrics
MetricEHCNHCTHC
Revenue growth (1Y) 9.5% 6.9% 5.4%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 10.7% 12.8% 3.1%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – – –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – – –
Operating income growth (1Y) – 24.1% 23.5%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) – 57.4% 24.7%
Net income growth (1Y) 20.3% 35.9% 32.4%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 26.2% 68.9% 41.1%
EPS growth (1Y) 21.5% 31.6% 65.1%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 26.0% 61.9% 77.6%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 9.7% 26.7% 62.9%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 21.4% 44.1% 31.1%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -5.9% 23.2% 94.7%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 62.3% 58.0% 46.5%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricEHCNHCTHC
Gross margin – – –
EBITDA margin 24.2% 12.2% 25.0%
Operating margin – 9.3% 20.8%
Pretax margin 16.6% 11.9% 17.7%
Net margin 10.0% 9.0% 10.3%
FCF margin 6.7% 9.4% 13.9%
Operating cash flow margin 19.5% 12.1% 18.4%
Return on equity 24.8% 12.8% 47.8%
Return on assets 11.3% 9.3% 10.3%
Return on invested capital 15.4% 10.0% 18.8%
Return on capital employed 17.7% 11.2% 17.9%
Asset turnover 0.8x 1.0x 0.7x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.5x 1.3x 1.3x
Stock comp / revenue 0.9% 0.3% 0.6%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricEHCNHCTHC
Debt / assets 35.3% – 43.2%
Debt / equity 0.8x – 2.0x
Net debt / EBITDA 1.7x – 2.0x
Debt / FCF 6.4x – 4.4x
Liabilities / assets 54.4% 26.6% 78.6%
Equity / assets 45.6% 73.4% 21.4%
Interest coverage 9.2x 56.6x 5.5x
Current ratio 1.2x 1.9x 1.4x
Quick ratio 0.9x 1.5x 0.9x
Cash ratio 0.1x 0.9x 0.4x
Altman Z-score – 7.43 2.10

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricEHCNHCTHC
Dividend yield 0.6% 1.2% –
Net buyback yield 2.0% 0.1% 7.6%
Shareholder yield 2.6% 1.3% 7.6%
Payout ratio (earnings) 9.0% 27.8% –
Payout ratio (FCF) 18.2% 27.1% –
Dividend growth (1Y) 12.1% 5.6% –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 0.9% 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.

ConsensusEHCNHCTHC
Forward P/E 20.9xFY2026 – 12.2xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $5.94FY2026 – $21.99FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +9.0%FY2026 – +31.0%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +7.1% – -7.1%
Revenue, next fiscal year $6.62BFY2026 – $23.70BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +11.5%FY2026 – +11.2%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +9.2% – -0.3%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersEHCNHCTHC
Held by institutions 96.0% 65.3% 96.2%
Institutions holding 595 250 677
Change in shares held, QoQ -0.8% -0.6% -1.9%
Institutions buying 292 136 331
Institutions selling 217 72 260
Buyers to sellers 1.35 1.89 1.27

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.

EHCNHCTHC
EHC 1.00 0.26 0.30
NHC 0.26 1.00 0.24
THC 0.30 0.24 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, EHC, NHC and THC?

Tenet Healthcare (THC) is the largest by market capitalisation: Encompass Health (EHC) $12.01B, National Healthcare (NHC) $3.32B, Tenet Healthcare (THC) $21.80B.

Which stock is cheaper, EHC, NHC and THC?

Tenet Healthcare (THC) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Encompass Health (EHC) 19.3x, National Healthcare (NHC) 23.7x, Tenet Healthcare (THC) 9.7x). On next year's consensus earnings, Tenet Healthcare (THC) is cheapest (Encompass Health (EHC) 20.9x, Tenet Healthcare (THC) 12.2x). 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%, National Healthcare (NHC) +6.9%, Tenet Healthcare (THC) +5.4%.

Which company is more profitable?

Tenet Healthcare (THC) has the highest net margin (Encompass Health (EHC) 10.0%, National Healthcare (NHC) 9.0%, Tenet Healthcare (THC) 10.3%). On return on invested capital, Tenet Healthcare (THC) leads (Encompass Health (EHC) 15.4%, National Healthcare (NHC) 10.0%, Tenet Healthcare (THC) 18.8%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year National Healthcare (NHC) returned the most: Encompass Health (EHC) -1.6%, National Healthcare (NHC) +82.2%, Tenet Healthcare (THC) +27.8%. Over five years, Tenet Healthcare (THC) compounded fastest (Encompass Health (EHC) +13.6%/yr, National Healthcare (NHC) +27.4%/yr, Tenet Healthcare (THC) +30.8%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

National Healthcare (NHC) has the highest dividend yield: Encompass Health (EHC) 0.01%, National Healthcare (NHC) 0.01%, Tenet Healthcare (THC) 0.00%. Tenet Healthcare (THC) 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%, National Healthcare (NHC) 34.4%, Tenet Healthcare (THC) 42.2%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, EHC, NHC and THC?

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