HCA vs NUTX vs UNH Stock Comparison

HCA Healthcare, Nutex Health and Unitedhealth Prices as of Oct 27, 2026 Peers: Industry group
HCA HCA Healthcare, Inc.
$449.78 +3.2% 1M -3.9% 1Y
Market cap
$101.81B
P/E
15.0x
Revenue (TTM)
$78.70B
Div. yield
–
Hospitals Healthcare
2 wins
NUTX Nutex Health Inc.
$208.25 -5.4% 1M +60.8% 1Y
Market cap
$1.46B
P/E
8.1x
Revenue (TTM)
$846.72M
Div. yield
0.06%
Hospitals Healthcare
9 wins
UNH Unitedhealth Group Inc
$410.61 +9.0% 1M +12.2% 1Y
Market cap
$367.43B
P/E
26.0x
Revenue (TTM)
$450.13B
Div. yield
0.02%
Managed Care Healthcare
1 win

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Nutex Health leads on 9 of the 12 questions below (Nutex Health 9, HCA Healthcare 2, Unitedhealth 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionHCANUTXUNHLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $101.81B $1.46B $367.43B UNH
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 15.0x 8.1x 26.0x NUTX
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 14.9x 7.4x 19.2x NUTX
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +5.8% +6.9% +6.5% NUTX
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months — 21.2% 3.1% NUTX
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — 56.1% 10.3% NUTX
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — -0.4x 1.6x NUTX
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.06% 0.02% NUTX
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -3.9% +60.8% +12.2% NUTX
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +12.4%/yr — -2.1%/yr HCA
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 31.1% 89.2% 36.2% HCA
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 61/100 82/100 52/100 NUTX

Percentile Scorecard

HCANUTXUNH

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

AxisHCANUTXUNH
Valuation 88 #12 of 92 96 #5 of 92 42 #15 of 25
Growth 23 #67 of 87 91 #9 of 87 9 #22 of 24
Profitability 74 #23 of 86 99 #2 of 86 91 #3 of 24
Financial Health – 89 #12 of 97 48 #14 of 26
Shareholder Returns 58 #24 of 56 36 #36 of 56 71 #5 of 15
Overall 61 82 52
  • HCA ranked among 102 companies in Healthcare Providers
  • NUTX ranked among 102 companies in Healthcare Providers
  • UNH ranked among 27 companies in Healthcare Payers and Distributors

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodHCANUTXUNHSPY
1 month +3.2%-5.4%+9.0% -0.2%
3 months +7.5%+39.7%-4.3% +3.9%
6 months +4.1%+80.9%+12.0% +8.2%
Year to date -3.7%+26.5%+24.4% +12.9%
1 year -3.9%+60.8%+12.2% +12.3%
3 years +99.6%+662.8%-21.7% +87.4%
3 years, per year +25.9%+96.9%-7.9% +23.3%
5 years +79.4%—-9.8% +67.9%
5 years, per year +12.4%—-2.1% +10.9%
10 years +467.1%—+189.3% +261.1%
10 years, per year +19.0%—+11.2% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureHCANUTXUNHSPY
Volatility, 1Y 31.1%89.2%36.2% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 30.7%87.7%38.1% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.111.770.31 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.120.680.34 0.97
Max drawdown, 5Y -39.7%-99.9%-62.0% -25.4%
From 52-week high -17.5%-7.4%-5.9% -1.2%
52-week high $545.13$225.00$436.35 $779.14
52-week low $361.32$87.01$259.02 $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.

MultipleHCANUTXUNH
P/E now vs peer median 14.6xmedian 24.6x 8.0xmedian 24.6x 26.2xmedian 23.9x
P/S now vs peer median 1.2xmedian 1.6x 1.7xmedian 1.6x 0.8xmedian 0.3x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median —median 14.6x 3.3xmedian 14.6x 15.9xmedian 13.4x
P/FCF now vs peer median 15.7xmedian 21.6x 5.2xmedian 21.6x 15.7xmedian 15.5x
P/B now vs peer median -12.1xmedian 3.2x 2.8xmedian 3.2x 3.6xmedian 2.5x
PEG now vs peer median 1.08median 0.66 0.26median 0.66 -2.29median 1.34

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 monthsHCANUTXUNH
Revenue $78.70B $846.72M $450.13B
Gross profit – $434.03M $139.28B
Operating income – $364.27M $21.68B
Net income $7.80B $272.49M $14.91B
Free cash flow – $274.17M $23.62B
EPS (diluted) $30.41 $25.62 $15.59
Cash & equivalents $908.00M $205.21M $28.59B
Total debt – $39.70M $73.33B
Shares (diluted) 222.83M 7.02M 906.00M
Enterprise value $101.81B $694.03M $246.00B

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
MetricHCANUTXUNH
P/E 14.6x 8.0x 26.2x
P/FCF 15.7x 5.2x 15.7x
P/Operating cash flow 8.8x 5.1x 13.8x
P/S 1.2x 1.7x 0.8x
P/B -12.1x 2.8x 3.6x
P/Tangible book -12.1x 2.9x 4.4x
EV/EBITDA – 3.3x 15.9x
EV/EBIT – 3.5x 19.1x
EV/Revenue 1.2x 1.5x 0.9x
EV/FCF – 4.6x 17.5x
EV/Operating cash flow 8.8x 4.5x 15.3x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 1.08 0.26 -2.29

Growth

14 metrics
MetricHCANUTXUNH
Revenue growth (1Y) 5.8% 6.9% 6.5%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 7.6% 62.5% 8.9%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – 6.7% 1.1%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – 273.1% 4.5%
Operating income growth (1Y) – 52.9% -29.5%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) – 41.4% -10.8%
Net income growth (1Y) 6.8% 119.2% -32.5%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 4.3% 37.7% -11.8%
EPS growth (1Y) 13.2% 206.2% -33.4%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 13.6% 31.2% -11.5%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -13.0% 228.7% -6.7%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 6.4% 446.8% -13.2%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) – 229.4% -6.5%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) – 266.5% -14.8%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricHCANUTXUNH
Gross margin – 51.3% 30.9%
EBITDA margin – 45.5% 5.8%
Operating margin – 43.0% 4.8%
Pretax margin – 40.6% 3.9%
Net margin – 21.2% 3.1%
FCF margin – 32.4% 5.2%
Operating cash flow margin 14.2% 33.0% 6.0%
Return on equity – 57.4% 14.3%
Return on assets – 28.4% 4.8%
Return on invested capital – 56.1% 10.3%
Return on capital employed – 43.2% 10.9%
Asset turnover – 0.9x 1.4x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.4x 1.0x 1.8x
Stock comp / revenue 0.5% 1.1% 0.2%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricHCANUTXUNH
Debt / assets – 4.1% 23.7%
Debt / equity – 0.1x 0.7x
Net debt / EBITDA – -0.4x 1.6x
Debt / FCF – 0.1x 3.1x
Liabilities / assets – 47.4% 66.3%
Equity / assets – 52.6% 33.7%
Interest coverage – 18.4x 5.6x
Current ratio – 5.0x 0.8x
Quick ratio – 4.8x 0.7x
Cash ratio – 1.8x 0.3x
Altman Z-score – 4.32 3.13

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricHCANUTXUNH
Dividend yield 0.7% – 2.2%
Net buyback yield – -0.1% 0.3%
Shareholder yield 0.7% -0.1% 2.5%
Payout ratio (earnings) – 30.9% 54.3%
Payout ratio (FCF) – 30.7% 34.3%
Dividend growth (1Y) – 260.2% 4.0%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – 140.0% 8.3%

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.

ConsensusHCANUTXUNH
Forward P/E 14.9xFY2026 7.4xFY2026 19.2xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $30.21FY2026 $27.99FY2026 $21.36FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +7.1%FY2026 +167.1%FY2026 +30.6%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +11.0% -8.6% +12.0%
Revenue, next fiscal year $73.03BFY2026 $824.09MFY2026 $421.27BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY -3.4%FY2026 -5.8%FY2026 -5.9%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +18.8% +19.4% +15.1%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersHCANUTXUNH
Held by institutions 59.5% 42.8% 86.6%
Institutions holding 1,333 153 3,360
Change in shares held, QoQ +0.3% +5.8% +5.0%
Institutions buying 567 99 1,823
Institutions selling 563 36 1,247
Buyers to sellers 1.01 2.75 1.46

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.

HCANUTXUNH
HCA 1.00 0.01 -0.02
NUTX 0.01 1.00 0.17
UNH -0.02 0.17 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, HCA, NUTX and UNH?

Unitedhealth (UNH) is the largest by market capitalisation: HCA Healthcare (HCA) $101.81B, Nutex Health (NUTX) $1.46B, Unitedhealth (UNH) $367.43B.

Which stock is cheaper, HCA, NUTX and UNH?

Nutex Health (NUTX) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (HCA Healthcare (HCA) 15.0x, Nutex Health (NUTX) 8.1x, Unitedhealth (UNH) 26.0x). On next year's consensus earnings, Nutex Health (NUTX) is cheapest (HCA Healthcare (HCA) 14.9x, Nutex Health (NUTX) 7.4x, Unitedhealth (UNH) 19.2x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Nutex Health (NUTX) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: HCA Healthcare (HCA) +5.8%, Nutex Health (NUTX) +6.9%, Unitedhealth (UNH) +6.5%.

Which company is more profitable?

Nutex Health (NUTX) has the highest net margin (Nutex Health (NUTX) 21.2%, Unitedhealth (UNH) 3.1%). On return on invested capital, Nutex Health (NUTX) leads (Nutex Health (NUTX) 56.1%, Unitedhealth (UNH) 10.3%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Nutex Health (NUTX) returned the most: HCA Healthcare (HCA) -3.9%, Nutex Health (NUTX) +60.8%, Unitedhealth (UNH) +12.2%. Over five years, HCA Healthcare (HCA) compounded fastest (HCA Healthcare (HCA) +12.4%/yr, Unitedhealth (UNH) -2.1%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Nutex Health (NUTX) has the highest dividend yield: HCA Healthcare (HCA) 0.00%, Nutex Health (NUTX) 0.06%, Unitedhealth (UNH) 0.02%. 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) 31.1%, Nutex Health (NUTX) 89.2%, Unitedhealth (UNH) 36.2%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

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 9. 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.