EHC vs NUTX vs HCA Stock Comparison

Encompass Health, Nutex Health and HCA Healthcare Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
EHC Encompass Health Corp
$124.11 +0.5% 1M -1.6% 1Y
Market cap
$11.98B
P/E
19.3x
Revenue (TTM)
$6.21B
Div. yield
0.01%
Hospitals Healthcare
2 wins
NUTX Nutex Health Inc.
$209.01 -5.0% 1M +66.4% 1Y
Market cap
$1.42B
P/E
7.9x
Revenue (TTM)
$846.72M
Div. yield
0.06%
Hospitals Healthcare
8 wins
HCA HCA Healthcare, Inc.
$464.89 +6.7% 1M +4.0% 1Y
Market cap
$98.17B
P/E
14.4x
Revenue (TTM)
$78.01B
Div. yield
–
Hospitals Healthcare
2 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Nutex Health leads on 8 of the 12 questions below (Nutex Health 8, HCA Healthcare 2, Encompass Health 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionEHCNUTXHCALeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $11.98B $1.42B $98.17B HCA
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 19.3x 7.9x 14.4x NUTX
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 20.9x 7.5x 15.4x NUTX
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +9.5% +6.9% +7.3% EHC
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 10.0% 21.2% 8.8% NUTX
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 15.4% 56.1% 22.0% NUTX
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 1.7x -0.4x 3.1x NUTX
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.01% 0.06% 0.00% NUTX
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -1.6% +66.4% +4.0% NUTX
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +13.6%/yr — +13.6%/yr HCA
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 29.5% 89.4% 31.0% EHC
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 64/100 82/100 59/100 NUTX

Percentile Scorecard

EHCNUTXHCA

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

AxisEHCNUTXHCA
Valuation 76 #23 of 93 96 #5 of 93 87 #13 of 93
Growth 55 #40 of 88 91 #9 of 88 25 #66 of 88
Profitability 90 #10 of 87 99 #2 of 87 94 #6 of 87
Financial Health 39 #61 of 100 89 #12 of 100 16 #84 of 100
Shareholder Returns 58 #24 of 56 36 #36 of 56 75 #15 of 56
Overall 64 82 59
  • EHC ranked among 103 companies in Healthcare Providers
  • NUTX ranked among 103 companies in Healthcare Providers
  • HCA ranked among 103 companies in Healthcare Providers

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodEHCNUTXHCASPY
1 month +0.5%-5.0%+6.7% -0.8%
3 months +9.0%+40.6%+19.4% +3.5%
6 months +23.0%+88.7%+4.3% +7.0%
Year to date +16.9%+27.0%-0.4% +12.2%
1 year -1.6%+66.4%+4.0% +13.0%
3 years +104.0%+665.6%+106.4% +86.3%
3 years, per year +26.8%+97.2%+27.3% +23.1%
5 years +89.0%—+89.5% +68.6%
5 years, per year +13.6%—+13.6% +11.0%
10 years +218.4%—+489.0% +258.0%
10 years, per year +12.3%—+19.4% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureEHCNUTXHCASPY
Volatility, 1Y 29.5%89.4%31.0% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 24.8%88.1%30.5% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.031.780.13 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.050.740.13 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -39.1%-99.9%-39.7% -25.4%
From 52-week high -3.0%-7.1%-14.7% -1.8%
52-week high $127.92$225.00$545.13 $779.14
52-week low $93.83$87.01$361.32 $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.

MultipleEHCNUTXHCA
P/E now vs peer median 19.7xmedian 25.1x 8.0xmedian 25.1x 15.0xmedian 25.1x
P/S now vs peer median 2.0xmedian 1.6x 1.7xmedian 1.6x 1.3xmedian 1.6x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 9.8xmedian 14.5x 3.3xmedian 14.5x 9.4xmedian 14.5x
P/FCF now vs peer median 29.6xmedian 22.4x 5.2xmedian 22.4x 16.9xmedian 22.4x
P/B now vs peer median 3.6xmedian 3.1x 2.8xmedian 3.1x -15.3xmedian 3.1x
PEG now vs peer median 0.76median 0.66 0.26median 0.66 1.07median 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 monthsEHCNUTXHCA
Revenue $6.21B $846.72M $78.01B
Gross profit – $434.03M –
Operating income – $364.27M –
Net income $833.30M $272.49M $7.85B
Free cash flow $413.40M $274.17M $6.00B
EPS (diluted) $6.21 $25.62 $30.70
Cash & equivalents $107.70M $205.21M $1.01B
Total debt $2.63B $39.70M $49.72B
Shares (diluted) 100.00M 7.02M 222.83M
Enterprise value $11.64B $651.22M $94.18B

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
MetricEHCNUTXHCA
P/E 19.7x 8.0x 15.0x
P/FCF 29.6x 5.2x 16.9x
P/Operating cash flow 10.1x 5.1x 9.1x
P/S 2.0x 1.7x 1.3x
P/B 3.6x 2.8x -15.3x
P/Tangible book 4.0x 2.9x -15.3x
EV/EBITDA 9.8x 3.3x 9.4x
EV/EBIT 12.8x 3.5x 12.3x
EV/Revenue 2.4x 1.5x 1.9x
EV/FCF 35.7x 4.6x 25.0x
EV/Operating cash flow 12.2x 4.5x 13.5x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.76 0.26 1.07

Growth

14 metrics
MetricEHCNUTXHCA
Revenue growth (1Y) 9.5% 6.9% 7.3%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 10.7% 62.5% 8.0%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – 6.7% –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – 273.1% –
Operating income growth (1Y) – 52.9% –
Operating income CAGR (3Y) – 41.4% –
Net income growth (1Y) 20.3% 119.2% 14.1%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 26.2% 37.7% 4.2%
EPS growth (1Y) 21.5% 206.2% 24.4%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 26.0% 31.2% 14.0%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 9.7% 228.7% -6.8%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 21.4% 446.8% 4.2%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -5.9% 229.4% -17.8%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 62.3% 266.5% 6.7%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricEHCNUTXHCA
Gross margin – 51.3% –
EBITDA margin 24.2% 45.5% 20.4%
Operating margin – 43.0% –
Pretax margin 16.6% 40.6% 12.7%
Net margin 10.0% 21.2% 8.8%
FCF margin 6.7% 32.4% 7.7%
Operating cash flow margin 19.5% 33.0% 14.3%
Return on equity 24.8% 57.4% –
Return on assets 11.3% 28.4% 12.6%
Return on invested capital 15.4% 56.1% 22.0%
Return on capital employed 17.7% 43.2% 27.1%
Asset turnover 0.8x 0.9x 1.3x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.5x 1.0x 1.4x
Stock comp / revenue 0.9% 1.1% 0.5%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricEHCNUTXHCA
Debt / assets 35.3% 4.1% 78.6%
Debt / equity 0.8x 0.1x -7.5x
Net debt / EBITDA 1.7x -0.4x 3.1x
Debt / FCF 6.4x 0.1x 8.3x
Liabilities / assets 54.4% 47.4% 110.5%
Equity / assets 45.6% 52.6% -10.5%
Interest coverage 9.2x 18.4x 5.3x
Current ratio 1.2x 5.0x 1.0x
Quick ratio 0.9x 4.8x 0.8x
Cash ratio 0.1x 1.8x 0.1x
Altman Z-score – 4.33 2.60

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricEHCNUTXHCA
Dividend yield 0.6% – 0.7%
Net buyback yield 2.0% -0.1% 8.6%
Shareholder yield 2.6% -0.1% 9.2%
Payout ratio (earnings) 9.0% 30.9% –
Payout ratio (FCF) 18.2% 30.7% –
Dividend growth (1Y) 12.1% 260.2% –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 0.9% 140.0% –

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.

ConsensusEHCNUTXHCA
Forward P/E 20.9xFY2026 7.5xFY2026 15.4xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $5.94FY2026 $27.99FY2026 $30.21FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +9.0%FY2026 +167.1%FY2026 +7.1%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +7.1% -8.6% +11.0%
Revenue, next fiscal year $6.62BFY2026 $824.09MFY2026 $73.03BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +11.5%FY2026 -5.8%FY2026 -3.4%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +9.2% +19.4% +18.8%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersEHCNUTXHCA
Held by institutions 96.0% 42.8% 59.5%
Institutions holding 595 153 1,333
Change in shares held, QoQ -0.8% +5.8% +0.3%
Institutions buying 292 99 567
Institutions selling 217 36 563
Buyers to sellers 1.35 2.75 1.01

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.

EHCNUTXHCA
EHC 1.00 0.06 0.28
NUTX 0.06 1.00 0.01
HCA 0.28 0.01 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

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Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, EHC, NUTX and HCA?

HCA Healthcare (HCA) is the largest by market capitalisation: Encompass Health (EHC) $11.98B, Nutex Health (NUTX) $1.42B, HCA Healthcare (HCA) $98.17B.

Which stock is cheaper, EHC, NUTX and HCA?

Nutex Health (NUTX) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Encompass Health (EHC) 19.3x, Nutex Health (NUTX) 7.9x, HCA Healthcare (HCA) 14.4x). On next year's consensus earnings, Nutex Health (NUTX) is cheapest (Encompass Health (EHC) 20.9x, Nutex Health (NUTX) 7.5x, HCA Healthcare (HCA) 15.4x). 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%, Nutex Health (NUTX) +6.9%, HCA Healthcare (HCA) +7.3%.

Which company is more profitable?

Nutex Health (NUTX) has the highest net margin (Encompass Health (EHC) 10.0%, Nutex Health (NUTX) 21.2%, HCA Healthcare (HCA) 8.8%). On return on invested capital, Nutex Health (NUTX) leads (Encompass Health (EHC) 15.4%, Nutex Health (NUTX) 56.1%, HCA Healthcare (HCA) 22.0%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Nutex Health (NUTX) returned the most: Encompass Health (EHC) -1.6%, Nutex Health (NUTX) +66.4%, HCA Healthcare (HCA) +4.0%. Over five years, HCA Healthcare (HCA) compounded fastest (Encompass Health (EHC) +13.6%/yr, HCA Healthcare (HCA) +13.6%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Nutex Health (NUTX) has the highest dividend yield: Encompass Health (EHC) 0.01%, Nutex Health (NUTX) 0.06%, HCA Healthcare (HCA) 0.00%. HCA Healthcare (HCA) 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%, Nutex Health (NUTX) 89.4%, HCA Healthcare (HCA) 31.0%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Nutex Health (NUTX) leads on 8. 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.