HCA vs UHS vs SGRY Stock Comparison

HCA Healthcare, Universal Health Services and Surgery Partners Prices as of Oct 23, 2026 Peers: Industry group
HCA HCA Healthcare, Inc.
$469.11 +7.4% 1M +6.6% 1Y
Market cap
$102.34B
P/E
15.0x
Revenue (TTM)
$78.01B
Div. yield
–
Hospitals Healthcare
6 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

HCA Healthcare leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (HCA Healthcare 6, Universal Health Services 5). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionHCAUHSSGRYLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $102.34B $11.08B $2.99B HCA
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 15.0x 7.3x -33.8x UHS
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 15.5x 8.1x 37.5x UHS
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +7.3% +10.0% +4.0% UHS
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 8.8% 8.4% -2.6% HCA
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 22.0% 12.8% 5.3% HCA
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 3.1x 1.7x 6.3x UHS
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +6.6% -10.3% -28.3% HCA
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +13.1%/yr +6.6%/yr -18.4%/yr HCA
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 31.3% 32.9% 54.1% HCA
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 59/100 66/100 57/100 UHS

Percentile Scorecard

HCAUHSSGRY

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

AxisHCAUHSSGRY
Valuation 86 #14 of 93 98 #3 of 93 89 #11 of 93
Growth 25 #66 of 88 52 #43 of 88 43 #51 of 88
Profitability 94 #6 of 87 78 #20 of 87 64 #32 of 87
Financial Health 16 #84 of 100 42 #58 of 100 31 #69 of 100
Shareholder Returns 75 #15 of 56 62 #22 of 56 –
Overall 59 66 57
  • HCA ranked among 103 companies in Healthcare Providers
  • UHS ranked among 103 companies in Healthcare Providers
  • SGRY ranked among 103 companies in Healthcare Providers

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodHCAUHSSGRYSPY
1 month +7.4%+3.1%+8.2% -1.0%
3 months +22.7%+20.0%+0.1% +2.9%
6 months +8.5%+7.3%+9.8% +6.4%
Year to date +0.5%-14.2%+1.9% +11.4%
1 year +6.6%-10.3%-28.3% +13.1%
3 years +103.9%+50.2%-35.1% +79.4%
3 years, per year +26.8%+14.5%-13.4% +21.5%
5 years +85.3%+37.9%-63.8% +67.7%
5 years, per year +13.1%+6.6%-18.4% +10.9%
10 years +473.9%+51.4%-22.6% +255.2%
10 years, per year +19.1%+4.2%-2.5% +13.5%

Risk

MeasureHCAUHSSGRYSPY
Volatility, 1Y 31.3%32.9%54.1% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 30.6%34.8%65.5% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.170.130.67 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.21-0.31-0.52 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -39.7%-43.5%-81.4% -25.4%
From 52-week high -13.9%-23.4%-31.3% -2.5%
52-week high $545.13$244.18$22.94 $779.14
52-week low $361.32$141.17$11.49 $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.

MultipleHCAUHSSGRY
P/E now vs peer median 15.1xmedian 25.3x 7.3xmedian 25.3x -22.9xmedian 25.3x
P/S now vs peer median 1.3xmedian 1.6x 0.5xmedian 1.6x 0.6xmedian 1.6x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 9.5xmedian 14.6x 5.3xmedian 14.6x 10.0xmedian 14.6x
P/FCF now vs peer median 17.0xmedian 22.7x 11.4xmedian 22.7x 11.0xmedian 22.7x
P/B now vs peer median -15.4xmedian 3.3x 1.3xmedian 3.3x 0.7xmedian 3.3x
PEG now vs peer median 1.08median 0.66 0.19median 0.66 1.33median 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 monthsHCAUHSSGRY
Revenue $78.01B $18.11B $3.37B
Operating income – $2.06B $383.80M
Net income $7.85B $1.55B $48.10M
Free cash flow $6.00B $845.40M $187.60M
EPS (diluted) $30.70 $25.47 $-0.69
Cash & equivalents $1.01B $138.80M $216.70M
Total debt $49.72B $4.85B $3.75B
Shares (diluted) 222.83M 59.91M 128.83M
Enterprise value $98.35B $10.57B $2.15B

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
MetricHCAUHSSGRY
P/E 15.1x 7.3x -22.9x
P/FCF 17.0x 11.4x 11.0x
P/Operating cash flow 9.2x 5.4x 8.0x
P/S 1.3x 0.5x 0.6x
P/B -15.4x 1.3x 0.7x
P/Tangible book -15.4x 1.3x 0.7x
EV/EBITDA 9.5x 5.3x 10.0x
EV/EBIT 12.4x 7.0x 14.6x
EV/Revenue 1.9x 0.8x 1.7x
EV/FCF 25.2x 17.0x 29.8x
EV/Operating cash flow 13.6x 8.0x 21.7x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 1.08 0.19 1.33

Growth

14 metrics
MetricHCAUHSSGRY
Revenue growth (1Y) 7.3% 10.0% 4.0%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 8.0% 9.5% 8.1%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – – –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – – –
Operating income growth (1Y) – 13.6% 6.1%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) – 23.4% 7.1%
Net income growth (1Y) 14.1% 20.4% 136.2%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 4.2% 31.7% 15.6%
EPS growth (1Y) 24.4% 31.3% 51.6%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 14.0% 37.7% -17.2%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -6.8% -5.3% -2.2%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 4.2% 15.4% 16.4%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -17.8% -6.2% 7.0%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 6.7% 18.4% 36.7%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricHCAUHSSGRY
Gross margin – – –
EBITDA margin 20.4% 14.9% 16.7%
Operating margin – 11.4% 11.4%
Pretax margin 12.7% 11.2% 11.4%
Net margin 8.8% 8.4% -2.6%
FCF margin 7.7% 4.7% 5.6%
Operating cash flow margin 14.3% 9.9% 7.7%
Return on equity – 20.5% 2.6%
Return on assets 12.6% 9.8% 1.0%
Return on invested capital 22.0% 12.8% 5.3%
Return on capital employed 27.1% 16.5% 5.1%
Asset turnover 1.3x 1.1x 0.4x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.4x 1.2x 5.4x
Stock comp / revenue 0.5% 0.5% 0.3%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricHCAUHSSGRY
Debt / assets 78.6% 30.4% 46.6%
Debt / equity -7.5x 0.6x 1.2x
Net debt / EBITDA 3.1x 1.7x 6.3x
Debt / FCF 8.3x 5.7x 20.0x
Liabilities / assets 110.5% 52.4% 61.5%
Equity / assets -10.5% 47.6% 38.5%
Interest coverage 5.3x 13.1x –
Current ratio 1.0x 1.1x 1.9x
Quick ratio 0.8x 0.9x 1.4x
Cash ratio 0.1x 0.0x 0.4x
Altman Z-score 2.61 – 0.76

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricHCAUHSSGRY
Dividend yield 0.7% 0.4% –
Net buyback yield 8.5% 10.9% –
Shareholder yield 9.2% 11.4% –
Payout ratio (earnings) – 3.2% –
Payout ratio (FCF) – 5.9% –
Dividend growth (1Y) – -6.0% –
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.

ConsensusHCAUHSSGRY
Forward P/E 15.5xFY2026 8.1xFY2026 37.5xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $30.21FY2026 $23.19FY2026 $0.42FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +7.1%FY2026 +6.7%FY2026 -10.6%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +11.0% +8.3% -2.4%
Revenue, next fiscal year $73.04BFY2026 $18.14BFY2026 $3.46BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY -3.4%FY2026 +4.5%FY2026 +4.7%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +18.8% +10.1% -1.2%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersHCAUHSSGRY
Held by institutions 59.5% 100.0% 100.0%
Institutions holding 1,333 597 189
Change in shares held, QoQ +0.3% +1.2% -0.8%
Institutions buying 567 289 111
Institutions selling 563 235 50
Buyers to sellers 1.01 1.23 2.22

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.

HCAUHSSGRY
HCA 1.00 0.66 0.34
UHS 0.66 1.00 0.30
SGRY 0.34 0.30 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, HCA, UHS and SGRY?

HCA Healthcare (HCA) is the largest by market capitalisation: HCA Healthcare (HCA) $102.34B, Universal Health Services (UHS) $11.08B, Surgery Partners (SGRY) $2.99B.

Which stock is cheaper, HCA, UHS and SGRY?

Universal Health Services (UHS) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (HCA Healthcare (HCA) 15.0x, Universal Health Services (UHS) 7.3x, Surgery Partners (SGRY) -33.8x). On next year's consensus earnings, Universal Health Services (UHS) is cheapest (HCA Healthcare (HCA) 15.5x, Universal Health Services (UHS) 8.1x, Surgery Partners (SGRY) 37.5x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Universal Health Services (UHS) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: HCA Healthcare (HCA) +7.3%, Universal Health Services (UHS) +10.0%, Surgery Partners (SGRY) +4.0%.

Which company is more profitable?

HCA Healthcare (HCA) has the highest net margin (HCA Healthcare (HCA) 8.8%, Universal Health Services (UHS) 8.4%, Surgery Partners (SGRY) -2.6%). On return on invested capital, HCA Healthcare (HCA) leads (HCA Healthcare (HCA) 22.0%, Universal Health Services (UHS) 12.8%, Surgery Partners (SGRY) 5.3%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year HCA Healthcare (HCA) returned the most: HCA Healthcare (HCA) +6.6%, Universal Health Services (UHS) -10.3%, Surgery Partners (SGRY) -28.3%. Over five years, HCA Healthcare (HCA) compounded fastest (HCA Healthcare (HCA) +13.1%/yr, Universal Health Services (UHS) +6.6%/yr, Surgery Partners (SGRY) -18.4%/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%, Universal Health Services (UHS) 0.00%, Surgery Partners (SGRY) 0.00%. HCA Healthcare (HCA) and Surgery Partners (SGRY) 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%, Universal Health Services (UHS) 32.9%, Surgery Partners (SGRY) 54.1%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, HCA, UHS and SGRY?

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 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.