ENSG vs ADUS vs NHC Stock Comparison

Ensign, Addus HomeCare and National Healthcare Prices as of Nov 5, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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ENSG Ensign Group, Inc
$182.39 +6.0% 1M -4.0% 1Y
Market cap
$10.44B
P/E
26.2x
Revenue (TTM)
$5.67B
Div. yield
–
Home Health and Senior Care Healthcare
3 wins
ADUS Addus HomeCare Corp
$126.93 +12.2% 1M +5.9% 1Y
Market cap
$2.28B
P/E
20.5x
Revenue (TTM)
$1.50B
Div. yield
–
Home Health and Senior Care Healthcare
6 wins
NHC National Healthcare Corp
$207.73 -8.8% 1M +66.3% 1Y
Market cap
$3.23B
P/E
28.2x
Revenue (TTM)
$1.58B
Div. yield
0.01%
Home Health and Senior Care Healthcare
2 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Addus HomeCare leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (Addus HomeCare 6, Ensign 3, National Healthcare 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionENSGADUSNHCLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $10.44B $2.28B $3.23B ENSG
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 26.2x 20.5x 28.2x ADUS
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 21.5x 17.6x — ADUS
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +17.5% +11.5% +5.6% ENSG
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 7.0% 7.4% 7.2% ADUS
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 14.3% 9.6% 8.6% ENSG
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA -0.3x -0.4x 1.4x ADUS
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.01% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -4.0% +5.9% +66.3% NHC
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +17.0%/yr +4.5%/yr +22.2%/yr NHC
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 29.6% 27.5% 34.9% ADUS
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 64/100 70/100 60/100 ADUS

Percentile Scorecard

ENSGADUSNHC

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

AxisENSGADUSNHC
Valuation 71 #28 of 95 82 #18 of 95 52 #46 of 95
Growth 63 #33 of 88 58 #38 of 88 51 #44 of 88
Profitability 76 #22 of 87 73 #24 of 87 74 #23 of 87
Financial Health 71 #30 of 100 90 #11 of 100 66 #35 of 100
Shareholder Returns 41 #36 of 60 49 #31 of 60 59 #25 of 60
Overall 64 70 60
  • ENSG ranked among 102 companies in Healthcare Providers
  • ADUS 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

PeriodENSGADUSNHCSPY
1 month +6.0%+12.2%-8.8% -5.9%
3 months +0.4%+6.9%-5.7% -4.6%
6 months +4.6%+30.5%+21.2% +0.2%
Year to date +4.7%+18.2%+51.5% +7.5%
1 year -4.0%+5.9%+66.3% +8.2%
3 years +79.2%+49.6%+200.5% +68.3%
3 years, per year +21.5%+14.4%+44.3% +19.0%
5 years +119.4%+24.4%+172.1% +56.5%
5 years, per year +17.0%+4.5%+22.2% +9.4%
10 years +989.5%+395.8%+230.1% +251.5%
10 years, per year +27.0%+17.4%+12.7% +13.4%

Risk

MeasureENSGADUSNHCSPY
Volatility, 1Y 29.6%27.5%34.9% 13.6%
Downside volatility, 1Y 25.5%29.4%32.4% 14.2%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.070.100.23 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.130.211.90 0.60
Max drawdown, 5Y -31.8%-34.9%-34.4% -25.4%
From 52-week high -15.5%-0.8%-16.0% -5.9%
52-week high $215.83$127.94$247.31 $779.14
52-week low $147.13$88.49$124.93 $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.

MultipleENSGADUSNHC
P/E now vs peer median 26.4xmedian 24.8x 20.9xmedian 24.8x 28.3xmedian 24.8x
P/S now vs peer median 1.9xmedian 1.6x 1.6xmedian 1.6x 2.1xmedian 1.6x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 16.6xmedian 15.9x 13.2xmedian 15.9x 17.3xmedian 15.9x
P/FCF now vs peer median 20.9xmedian 20.9x 16.4xmedian 20.9x -8.4xmedian 20.9x
P/B now vs peer median 4.2xmedian 3.3x 2.0xmedian 3.3x 2.9xmedian 3.3x
PEG now vs peer median 1.67median 0.88 1.10median 0.88 0.81median 0.88

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 monthsENSGADUSNHC
Revenue $5.67B $1.50B $1.58B
Gross profit $1.20B $485.44M –
Operating income $509.16M $155.11M $154.94M
Net income $399.32M $111.05M $116.02M
Free cash flow $509.91M $144.23M -$388.63M
EPS (diluted) $6.73 $5.98 $7.18
Cash & equivalents $337.59M $98.48M $66.80M
Total debt $198.72M $21.92M $502.06M
Shares (diluted) 59.30M 18.57M 15.96M
Enterprise value $8.56B $1.90B $2.29B

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
MetricENSGADUSNHC
P/E 26.4x 20.9x 28.3x
P/FCF 20.9x 16.4x -8.4x
P/Operating cash flow 15.3x 15.6x 14.7x
P/S 1.9x 1.6x 2.1x
P/B 4.2x 2.0x 2.9x
P/Tangible book 4.2x 2.2x 2.9x
EV/EBITDA 16.6x 13.2x 17.3x
EV/EBIT 20.5x 14.8x 22.8x
EV/Revenue 1.8x 1.5x 2.2x
EV/FCF 20.5x 15.9x -9.1x
EV/Operating cash flow 15.0x 15.1x 15.9x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 1.67 1.10 0.81

Growth

14 metrics
MetricENSGADUSNHC
Revenue growth (1Y) 17.5% 11.5% 5.6%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 16.8% 13.4% 12.8%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 21.7% 10.4% –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 16.3% 14.2% –
Operating income growth (1Y) 26.6% 25.8% 24.8%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 18.3% 22.8% 49.8%
Net income growth (1Y) 21.6% 29.7% 12.2%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 17.2% 24.4% 39.3%
EPS growth (1Y) 20.9% 28.4% 11.1%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 15.9% 19.1% 35.0%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 44.5% 47.4% 22.5%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 26.8% 12.6% 31.5%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 76.1% 49.6% -364.6%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 29.2% 14.2% -94.5%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricENSGADUSNHC
Gross margin 21.2% 32.3% –
EBITDA margin 11.1% 11.5% 12.9%
Operating margin 9.0% 10.3% 9.8%
Pretax margin 9.4% 10.0% 9.5%
Net margin 7.0% 7.4% 7.2%
FCF margin 9.0% 9.6% -24.5%
Operating cash flow margin 12.3% 10.1% 14.0%
Return on equity 16.0% 9.5% 10.3%
Return on assets 6.8% 7.6% 6.4%
Return on invested capital 14.3% 9.6% 8.6%
Return on capital employed 10.4% 12.1% 10.2%
Asset turnover 1.0x 1.0x 0.9x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.7x 1.4x 1.9x
Stock comp / revenue 1.1% 1.1% 0.4%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricENSGADUSNHC
Debt / assets 3.3% 1.5% 24.3%
Debt / equity 0.1x 0.0x 0.4x
Net debt / EBITDA -0.3x -0.4x 1.4x
Debt / FCF 0.4x 0.2x -1.3x
Liabilities / assets 57.3% 18.6% 45.3%
Equity / assets 42.7% 81.4% 54.7%
Interest coverage 62.8x 19.7x 19.2x
Current ratio 1.2x 1.6x 1.5x
Quick ratio 1.1x 1.5x 1.2x
Cash ratio 0.4x 0.6x 0.8x
Altman Z-score 3.60 7.26 3.78

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricENSGADUSNHC
Dividend yield 0.2% – 1.3%
Net buyback yield 0.2% -0.1% 0.1%
Shareholder yield 0.3% -0.1% 1.4%
Payout ratio (earnings) – – 34.8%
Payout ratio (FCF) – – -10.4%
Dividend growth (1Y) – – 5.7%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – – 4.6%

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.

ConsensusENSGADUSNHC
Forward P/E 21.5xFY2026 17.6xFY2026 –
EPS, next fiscal year $8.47FY2026 $7.20FY2026 –
EPS growth, next FY +28.9%FY2026 +15.6%FY2026 –
EPS growth, the year after -1.9% +11.1% –
Revenue, next fiscal year $5.77BFY2026 $1.57BFY2026 –
Revenue growth, next FY +14.1%FY2026 +10.8%FY2026 –
Revenue growth, the year after +18.3% +6.1% –

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersENSGADUSNHC
Held by institutions 89.8% 100.0% 65.3%
Institutions holding 549 305 250
Change in shares held, QoQ -1.2% +0.8% -0.6%
Institutions buying 250 162 136
Institutions selling 215 94 72
Buyers to sellers 1.16 1.72 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.

ENSGADUSNHC
ENSG 1.00 0.33 0.35
ADUS 0.33 1.00 0.37
NHC 0.35 0.37 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

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Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, ENSG, ADUS and NHC?

Ensign (ENSG) is the largest by market capitalisation: Ensign (ENSG) $10.44B, Addus HomeCare (ADUS) $2.28B, National Healthcare (NHC) $3.23B.

Which stock is cheaper, ENSG, ADUS and NHC?

Addus HomeCare (ADUS) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Ensign (ENSG) 26.2x, Addus HomeCare (ADUS) 20.5x, National Healthcare (NHC) 28.2x). On next year's consensus earnings, Addus HomeCare (ADUS) is cheapest (Ensign (ENSG) 21.5x, Addus HomeCare (ADUS) 17.6x). 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: Ensign (ENSG) +17.5%, Addus HomeCare (ADUS) +11.5%, National Healthcare (NHC) +5.6%.

Which company is more profitable?

Addus HomeCare (ADUS) has the highest net margin (Ensign (ENSG) 7.0%, Addus HomeCare (ADUS) 7.4%, National Healthcare (NHC) 7.2%). On return on invested capital, Ensign (ENSG) leads (Ensign (ENSG) 14.3%, Addus HomeCare (ADUS) 9.6%, National Healthcare (NHC) 8.6%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year National Healthcare (NHC) returned the most: Ensign (ENSG) -4.0%, Addus HomeCare (ADUS) +5.9%, National Healthcare (NHC) +66.3%. Over five years, National Healthcare (NHC) compounded fastest (Ensign (ENSG) +17.0%/yr, Addus HomeCare (ADUS) +4.5%/yr, National Healthcare (NHC) +22.2%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Ensign (ENSG) 0.00%, Addus HomeCare (ADUS) 0.00%, National Healthcare (NHC) 0.01%. Ensign (ENSG) and Addus HomeCare (ADUS) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Addus HomeCare (ADUS) has been the steadiest (Ensign (ENSG) 29.6%, Addus HomeCare (ADUS) 27.5%, National Healthcare (NHC) 34.9%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, ENSG, ADUS 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, Addus HomeCare (ADUS) leads on 6. 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.