ENSG vs GRDN vs ADUS Stock Comparison

Ensign, Guardian Pharmacy Services and Addus HomeCare Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
ENSG Ensign Group, Inc
$176.92 +1.0% 1M -4.9% 1Y
Market cap
$9.79B
P/E
25.9x
Revenue (TTM)
$5.49B
Div. yield
–
Home Health and Senior Care Healthcare
6 wins
ADUS Addus HomeCare Corp
$121.17 +7.1% 1M -0.4% 1Y
Market cap
$2.21B
P/E
21.0x
Revenue (TTM)
$1.48B
Div. yield
–
Home Health and Senior Care Healthcare
2 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

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

QuestionENSGGRDNADUSLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $9.79B $5.00M $2.21B ENSG
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 25.9x 0.1x 21.0x GRDN
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 21.3x 30.9x 16.8x ADUS
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +18.9% +10.3% +15.9% ENSG
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 6.9% 4.5% 7.1% ADUS
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 13.9% — 9.2% ENSG
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA -0.3x — -0.2x ENSG
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -4.9% +37.4% -0.4% GRDN
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +20.6%/yr — +7.7%/yr ENSG
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 27.8% 40.6% 29.3% ENSG
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 61/100 94/100 69/100 GRDN

Percentile Scorecard

ENSGGRDNADUS

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

AxisENSGGRDNADUS
Valuation 65 #33 of 93 100 #1 of 25 86 #14 of 93
Growth 59 #37 of 88 87 #4 of 24 61 #35 of 88
Profitability 71 #26 of 87 100 #1 of 24 72 #25 of 87
Financial Health 73 #28 of 100 88 #4 of 26 87 #14 of 100
Shareholder Returns 40 #34 of 56 – 38 #35 of 56
Overall 61 94 69
  • ENSG ranked among 103 companies in Healthcare Providers
  • GRDN ranked among 27 companies in Healthcare Payers and Distributors
  • ADUS ranked among 103 companies in Healthcare Providers

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodENSGGRDNADUSSPY
1 month +1.0%-4.8%+7.1% -0.8%
3 months -0.6%-5.5%+4.8% +3.5%
6 months -6.9%+3.3%+23.5% +7.0%
Year to date +1.6%+30.3%+12.8% +12.2%
1 year -4.9%+37.4%-0.4% +13.0%
3 years +81.8%—+47.9% +86.3%
3 years, per year +22.1%—+13.9% +23.1%
5 years +155.5%—+45.0% +68.6%
5 years, per year +20.6%—+7.7% +11.0%
10 years +886.2%—+366.4% +258.0%
10 years, per year +25.7%—+16.7% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureENSGGRDNADUSSPY
Volatility, 1Y 27.8%40.6%29.3% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 24.3%38.6%30.8% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y -0.060.570.18 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.180.92-0.01 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -31.8%-27.2%-34.9% -25.4%
From 52-week high -18.0%-15.7%-1.3% -1.8%
52-week high $215.83$46.49$122.75 $779.14
52-week low $147.13$27.03$88.49 $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.

MultipleENSGGRDNADUS
P/E now vs peer median 27.1xmedian 25.1x 0.1xmedian 24.3x 21.0xmedian 25.1x
P/S now vs peer median 1.9xmedian 1.6x 0.0xmedian 0.3x 1.5xmedian 1.6x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 17.4xmedian 14.5x -0.8xmedian 13.5x 13.4xmedian 14.5x
P/FCF now vs peer median 24.6xmedian 22.4x 0.1xmedian 15.6x 14.6xmedian 22.4x
P/B now vs peer median 4.2xmedian 3.1x 0.0xmedian 2.5x 2.0xmedian 3.1x
PEG now vs peer median 1.82median 0.66 —median 1.33 1.06median 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 monthsENSGGRDNADUS
Revenue $5.49B $1.46B $1.48B
Gross profit $1.14B $316.58M $477.75M
Operating income $467.39M $85.44M $148.23M
Net income $378.95M $65.91M $105.31M
Free cash flow $419.09M $75.29M $154.77M
EPS (diluted) $6.37 $1,032.46 $5.70
Cash & equivalents $262.30M $89.81M $99.57M
Total debt $566.98M – $61.60M
Shares (diluted) 59.48M 63.84K 18.47M
Enterprise value $7.79B -$251.81M $1.83B

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
MetricENSGGRDNADUS
P/E 27.1x 0.1x 21.0x
P/FCF 24.6x 0.1x 14.6x
P/Operating cash flow 16.9x 0.1x 13.9x
P/S 1.9x 0.0x 1.5x
P/B 4.2x 0.0x 2.0x
P/Tangible book 4.2x 0.0x 2.2x
EV/EBITDA 17.4x -0.8x 13.4x
EV/EBIT 21.7x -1.0x 15.0x
EV/Revenue 1.8x -0.1x 1.5x
EV/FCF 24.2x -1.1x 14.4x
EV/Operating cash flow 16.6x -0.9x 13.7x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 1.82 – 1.06

Growth

14 metrics
MetricENSGGRDNADUS
Revenue growth (1Y) 18.9% 10.3% 15.9%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 17.4% – 13.9%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 18.7% 21.5% 15.1%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 15.7% – 14.9%
Operating income growth (1Y) 18.2% 237.2% 27.5%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 15.6% – 23.6%
Net income growth (1Y) 17.3% 172.0% 26.9%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 16.4% – 25.1%
EPS growth (1Y) 15.6% 142,625% 26.0%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 14.9% – 19.9%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 31.4% 71.4% 61.7%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 25.1% – 16.4%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 51.4% 206.9% 65.3%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 26.2% – 17.9%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricENSGGRDNADUS
Gross margin 20.7% 21.6% 32.4%
EBITDA margin 10.6% 7.4% 11.3%
Operating margin 8.5% 5.8% 10.0%
Pretax margin 9.1% 6.5% 9.5%
Net margin 6.9% 4.5% 7.1%
FCF margin 7.6% 5.1% 10.5%
Operating cash flow margin 11.1% 6.8% 11.0%
Return on equity 15.7% 27.1% 9.3%
Return on assets 6.7% 15.3% 7.3%
Return on invested capital 13.9% – 9.2%
Return on capital employed 9.7% 30.4% 11.6%
Asset turnover 1.0x 3.4x 1.0x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.6x 1.5x 1.5x
Stock comp / revenue 1.0% 0.7% 1.2%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricENSGGRDNADUS
Debt / assets 2.4% – 4.2%
Debt / equity 0.1x – 0.1x
Net debt / EBITDA -0.3x – -0.2x
Debt / FCF 0.3x – 0.4x
Liabilities / assets 57.5% 41.9% 21.2%
Equity / assets 42.5% 58.1% 78.8%
Interest coverage 60.0x 135.4x 14.9x
Current ratio 1.2x 1.7x 1.7x
Quick ratio 1.1x 1.3x 1.5x
Cash ratio 0.4x 0.6x 0.6x
Altman Z-score 3.61 4.54 6.35

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricENSGGRDNADUS
Dividend yield 0.2% – –
Net buyback yield 0.1% – -0.1%
Shareholder yield 0.2% – -0.1%
Payout ratio (earnings) – – –
Payout ratio (FCF) – – –
Dividend growth (1Y) – – –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – – –

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.

ConsensusENSGGRDNADUS
Forward P/E 21.3xFY2026 30.9xFY2026 16.8xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $8.29FY2026 $1.27FY2026 $7.20FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +26.2%FY2026 +18.7%FY2026 +15.6%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after -1.8% +17.3% +11.1%
Revenue, next fiscal year $5.76BFY2026 $1.41BFY2026 $1.57BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +13.9%FY2026 -2.8%FY2026 +10.8%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +16.9% +2.1% +6.1%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersENSGGRDNADUS
Held by institutions 89.8% 46.1% 100.0%
Institutions holding 547 189 303
Change in shares held, QoQ -1.2% +3.8% +0.8%
Institutions buying 250 109 162
Institutions selling 213 54 94
Buyers to sellers 1.17 2.02 1.72

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.

ENSGGRDNADUS
ENSG 1.00 0.17 0.36
GRDN 0.17 1.00 0.24
ADUS 0.36 0.24 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, ENSG, GRDN and ADUS?

Ensign (ENSG) is the largest by market capitalisation: Ensign (ENSG) $9.79B, Guardian Pharmacy Services (GRDN) $5.00M, Addus HomeCare (ADUS) $2.21B.

Which stock is cheaper, ENSG, GRDN and ADUS?

Guardian Pharmacy Services (GRDN) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Ensign (ENSG) 25.9x, Guardian Pharmacy Services (GRDN) 0.1x, Addus HomeCare (ADUS) 21.0x). On next year's consensus earnings, Addus HomeCare (ADUS) is cheapest (Ensign (ENSG) 21.3x, Guardian Pharmacy Services (GRDN) 30.9x, Addus HomeCare (ADUS) 16.8x). 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) +18.9%, Guardian Pharmacy Services (GRDN) +10.3%, Addus HomeCare (ADUS) +15.9%.

Which company is more profitable?

Addus HomeCare (ADUS) has the highest net margin (Ensign (ENSG) 6.9%, Guardian Pharmacy Services (GRDN) 4.5%, Addus HomeCare (ADUS) 7.1%). On return on invested capital, Ensign (ENSG) leads (Ensign (ENSG) 13.9%, Addus HomeCare (ADUS) 9.2%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Guardian Pharmacy Services (GRDN) returned the most: Ensign (ENSG) -4.9%, Guardian Pharmacy Services (GRDN) +37.4%, Addus HomeCare (ADUS) -0.4%. Over five years, Ensign (ENSG) compounded fastest (Ensign (ENSG) +20.6%/yr, Addus HomeCare (ADUS) +7.7%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Ensign (ENSG) has been the steadiest (Ensign (ENSG) 27.8%, Guardian Pharmacy Services (GRDN) 40.6%, Addus HomeCare (ADUS) 29.3%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, ENSG, GRDN and ADUS?

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