HCA vs NHC Stock Comparison

HCA Healthcare and National Healthcare Prices as of Oct 23, 2026 Peers: Industry group
HCA HCA Healthcare, Inc.
$469.11 +7.4% 1M +6.6% 1Y
Market cap
$102.46B
P/E
15.0x
Revenue (TTM)
$78.01B
Div. yield
–
Hospitals Healthcare
5 wins
NHC National Healthcare Corp
$235.53 +4.6% 1M +92.9% 1Y
Market cap
$3.50B
P/E
25.0x
Revenue (TTM)
$1.56B
Div. yield
0.01%
Home Health and Senior Care Healthcare
4 wins

Head to Head

9 decided of 12

HCA Healthcare leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (HCA Healthcare 5, National Healthcare 4). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionHCANHCLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $102.46B $3.50B HCA
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 15.0x 25.0x HCA
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 15.5x — –
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +7.3% +6.9% HCA
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 8.8% 9.0% NHC
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 22.0% 10.0% HCA
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 3.1x — –
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.01% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +6.6% +92.9% NHC
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +13.1%/yr +27.0%/yr NHC
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 31.3% 33.9% HCA
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 59/100 75/100 NHC

Percentile Scorecard

HCANHC

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

AxisHCANHC
Valuation 86 #14 of 93 71 #28 of 93
Growth 25 #66 of 88 79 #19 of 88
Profitability 94 #6 of 87 76 #22 of 87
Financial Health 16 #84 of 100 88 #13 of 100
Shareholder Returns 75 #15 of 56 64 #21 of 56
Overall 59 75
  • HCA ranked among 103 companies in Healthcare Providers
  • NHC ranked among 103 companies in Healthcare Providers

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodHCANHCSPY
1 month +7.4%+4.6% -1.0%
3 months +22.7%+4.6% +2.9%
6 months +8.5%+36.3% +6.4%
Year to date +0.5%+71.8% +11.4%
1 year +6.6%+92.9% +13.1%
3 years +103.9%+257.9% +79.4%
3 years, per year +26.8%+53.0% +21.5%
5 years +85.3%+230.8% +67.7%
5 years, per year +13.1%+27.0% +10.9%
10 years +473.9%+261.2% +255.2%
10 years, per year +19.1%+13.7% +13.5%

Risk

MeasureHCANHCSPY
Volatility, 1Y 31.3%33.9% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 30.6%30.8% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.170.16 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.212.74 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -39.7%-34.4% -25.4%
From 52-week high -13.9%-4.8% -2.5%
52-week high $545.13$247.31 $779.14
52-week low $361.32$119.44 $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.

MultipleHCANHC
P/E now vs peer median 15.1xmedian 25.3x 26.2xmedian 25.3x
P/S now vs peer median 1.3xmedian 1.6x 2.4xmedian 1.6x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 9.5xmedian 14.6x 18.3xmedian 14.6x
P/FCF now vs peer median 17.0xmedian 22.7x 25.2xmedian 22.7x
P/B now vs peer median -15.4xmedian 3.3x 3.3xmedian 3.3x
PEG now vs peer median 1.08median 0.66 0.42median 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 monthsHCANHC
Revenue $78.01B $1.56B
Operating income – $144.68M
Net income $7.85B $142.84M
Free cash flow $6.00B $146.53M
EPS (diluted) $30.70 $8.84
Cash & equivalents $1.01B $39.21M
Total debt $49.72B –
Shares (diluted) 222.83M 15.86M
Enterprise value $98.47B $2.48B

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
MetricHCANHC
P/E 15.1x 26.2x
P/FCF 17.0x 25.2x
P/Operating cash flow 9.2x 19.5x
P/S 1.3x 2.4x
P/B -15.4x 3.3x
P/Tangible book -15.4x 3.3x
EV/EBITDA 9.5x 18.3x
EV/EBIT 12.4x 24.0x
EV/Revenue 1.9x 2.2x
EV/FCF 25.2x 23.7x
EV/Operating cash flow 13.6x 18.4x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 1.08 0.42

Growth

14 metrics
MetricHCANHC
Revenue growth (1Y) 7.3% 6.9%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 8.0% 12.8%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – –
Operating income growth (1Y) – 24.1%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) – 57.4%
Net income growth (1Y) 14.1% 35.9%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 4.2% 68.9%
EPS growth (1Y) 24.4% 31.6%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 14.0% 61.9%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -6.8% 26.7%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 4.2% 44.1%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -17.8% 23.2%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 6.7% 58.0%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricHCANHC
Gross margin – –
EBITDA margin 20.4% 12.2%
Operating margin – 9.3%
Pretax margin 12.7% 11.9%
Net margin 8.8% 9.0%
FCF margin 7.7% 9.4%
Operating cash flow margin 14.3% 12.1%
Return on equity – 12.8%
Return on assets 12.6% 9.3%
Return on invested capital 22.0% 10.0%
Return on capital employed 27.1% 11.2%
Asset turnover 1.3x 1.0x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.4x 1.3x
Stock comp / revenue 0.5% 0.3%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricHCANHC
Debt / assets 78.6% –
Debt / equity -7.5x –
Net debt / EBITDA 3.1x –
Debt / FCF 8.3x –
Liabilities / assets 110.5% 26.6%
Equity / assets -10.5% 73.4%
Interest coverage 5.3x 56.6x
Current ratio 1.0x 1.9x
Quick ratio 0.8x 1.5x
Cash ratio 0.1x 0.9x
Altman Z-score 2.61 7.71

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricHCANHC
Dividend yield 0.7% 1.1%
Net buyback yield 8.5% 0.1%
Shareholder yield 9.2% 1.2%
Payout ratio (earnings) – 27.8%
Payout ratio (FCF) – 27.1%
Dividend growth (1Y) – 5.6%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – 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.

ConsensusHCANHC
Forward P/E 15.5xFY2026 –
EPS, next fiscal year $30.21FY2026 –
EPS growth, next FY +7.1%FY2026 –
EPS growth, the year after +11.0% –
Revenue, next fiscal year $73.04BFY2026 –
Revenue growth, next FY -3.4%FY2026 –
Revenue growth, the year after +18.8% –

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersHCANHC
Held by institutions 59.5% 65.3%
Institutions holding 1,333 250
Change in shares held, QoQ +0.3% -0.6%
Institutions buying 567 136
Institutions selling 563 72
Buyers to sellers 1.01 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.

HCANHC
HCA 1.00 0.24
NHC 0.24 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, HCA and NHC?

HCA Healthcare (HCA) is the largest by market capitalisation: HCA Healthcare (HCA) $102.46B, National Healthcare (NHC) $3.50B.

Which stock is cheaper, HCA and NHC?

HCA Healthcare (HCA) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (HCA Healthcare (HCA) 15.0x, National Healthcare (NHC) 25.0x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

HCA Healthcare (HCA) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: HCA Healthcare (HCA) +7.3%, National Healthcare (NHC) +6.9%.

Which company is more profitable?

National Healthcare (NHC) has the highest net margin (HCA Healthcare (HCA) 8.8%, National Healthcare (NHC) 9.0%). On return on invested capital, HCA Healthcare (HCA) leads (HCA Healthcare (HCA) 22.0%, National Healthcare (NHC) 10.0%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year National Healthcare (NHC) returned the most: HCA Healthcare (HCA) +6.6%, National Healthcare (NHC) +92.9%. Over five years, National Healthcare (NHC) compounded fastest (HCA Healthcare (HCA) +13.1%/yr, National Healthcare (NHC) +27.0%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: HCA Healthcare (HCA) 0.00%, National Healthcare (NHC) 0.01%. HCA Healthcare (HCA) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, HCA Healthcare (HCA) has been the steadiest (HCA Healthcare (HCA) 31.3%, National Healthcare (NHC) 33.9%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Do HCA and NHC move together?

Their daily returns over the past year have a correlation of 0.24, a weak relationship. Holding both diversifies more than two closely linked stocks would.

Which is the better stock, HCA 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, HCA Healthcare (HCA) leads on 5. 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.