NHC vs AVAH vs CHE Stock Comparison

National Healthcare, Aveanna Healthcare Holdings and Chemed Prices as of Oct 27, 2026 Peers: Industry group
NHC National Healthcare Corp
$212.79 -6.1% 1M +76.8% 1Y
Market cap
$3.30B
P/E
23.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$1.56B
Div. yield
0.01%
Home Health and Senior Care Healthcare
3 wins
CHE Chemed Corp
$508.35 -0.6% 1M +16.4% 1Y
Market cap
$7.06B
P/E
25.0x
Revenue (TTM)
$2.66B
Div. yield
–
Home Health and Senior Care Healthcare
2 wins

Head to Head

10 decided of 12

Aveanna Healthcare Holdings leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (Aveanna Healthcare Holdings 5, National Healthcare 3, Chemed 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionNHCAVAHCHELeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $3.30B $2.84B $7.06B CHE
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 23.6x 10.9x 25.0x AVAH
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS — 14.9x 19.2x AVAH
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +6.9% +16.8% +5.2% AVAH
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 9.0% 10.2% — AVAH
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 10.0% 18.4% — AVAH
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — 4.0x — –
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.01% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +76.8% +31.9% +16.4% NHC
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +25.5%/yr +10.7%/yr +2.6%/yr NHC
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 34.7% 47.7% 29.8% CHE
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 78/100 67/100 43/100 NHC

Percentile Scorecard

NHCAVAHCHE

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

AxisNHCAVAHCHE
Valuation 77 #22 of 92 70 #28 of 92 45 #51 of 92
Growth 79 #19 of 87 84 #15 of 87 14 #75 of 87
Profitability 80 #18 of 86 94 #6 of 86 62 #33 of 86
Financial Health 88 #13 of 97 21 #77 of 97 48 #51 of 97
Shareholder Returns 67 #19 of 56 – 47 #30 of 56
Overall 78 67 43
  • NHC ranked among 102 companies in Healthcare Providers
  • AVAH ranked among 102 companies in Healthcare Providers
  • CHE ranked among 102 companies in Healthcare Providers

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodNHCAVAHCHESPY
1 month -6.1%+2.3%-0.6% -0.2%
3 months -7.8%+28.4%-1.6% +3.9%
6 months +21.8%+89.6%+20.7% +8.2%
Year to date +55.2%+55.4%+18.8% +12.9%
1 year +76.8%+31.9%+16.4% +12.3%
3 years +221.9%+958.3%-10.0% +87.4%
3 years, per year +47.7%+119.7%-3.4% +23.3%
5 years +211.4%+66.0%+13.7% +67.9%
5 years, per year +25.5%+10.7%+2.6% +10.9%
10 years +228.6%—+266.9% +261.1%
10 years, per year +12.6%—+13.9% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureNHCAVAHCHESPY
Volatility, 1Y 34.7%47.7%29.8% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 32.3%43.2%33.2% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.130.630.00 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 2.210.670.55 0.97
Max drawdown, 5Y -34.4%-92.3%-43.4% -25.4%
From 52-week high -14.0%-11.7%-8.0% -1.2%
52-week high $247.31$14.38$552.43 $779.14
52-week low $119.44$6.22$368.59 $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.

MultipleNHCAVAHCHE
P/E now vs peer median 23.7xmedian 24.6x 10.6xmedian 24.6x 23.7xmedian 24.6x
P/S now vs peer median 2.1xmedian 1.6x 1.1xmedian 1.6x 2.5xmedian 1.6x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 16.4xmedian 14.6x 13.3xmedian 14.6x —median 14.6x
P/FCF now vs peer median 22.7xmedian 21.6x —median 21.6x 20.7xmedian 21.6x
P/B now vs peer median 3.0xmedian 3.2x 9.6xmedian 3.2x 7.7xmedian 3.2x
PEG now vs peer median 0.38median 0.66 0.24median 0.66 2.38median 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 monthsNHCAVAHCHE
Revenue $1.56B $2.54B $2.66B
Gross profit – $845.45M –
Operating income $144.68M $284.64M $370.86M
Net income $142.84M $260.11M $282.40M
Free cash flow $146.53M – –
EPS (diluted) $8.84 $1.16 $21.40
Cash & equivalents $39.21M $97.20M $48.43M
Total debt – $1.30B –
Shares (diluted) 15.86M 224.86M 13.20M
Enterprise value $2.28B $2.30B $7.06B

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
MetricNHCAVAHCHE
P/E 23.7x 10.6x 23.7x
P/FCF 22.7x – 20.7x
P/Operating cash flow 17.7x – 18.3x
P/S 2.1x 1.1x 2.5x
P/B 3.0x 9.6x 7.7x
P/Tangible book 3.0x 14.8x 8.5x
EV/EBITDA 16.4x 13.3x –
EV/EBIT 21.6x 14.0x –
EV/Revenue 2.0x 1.6x 2.5x
EV/FCF 21.3x – –
EV/Operating cash flow 16.5x – 18.3x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.38 0.24 2.38

Growth

14 metrics
MetricNHCAVAHCHE
Revenue growth (1Y) 6.9% 16.8% 5.2%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 12.8% 11.6% 6.1%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – 16.5% –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – 14.5% –
Operating income growth (1Y) 24.1% 34.5% 5.5%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 57.4% 58.3% 6.1%
Net income growth (1Y) 35.9% 1,302% 1.3%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 68.9% 47.1% 4.9%
EPS growth (1Y) 31.6% 1,212% 10.6%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 61.9% 44.2% 10.0%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 26.7% – -13.5%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 44.1% – 4.1%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 23.2% – –
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 58.0% – –

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricNHCAVAHCHE
Gross margin – 33.2% –
EBITDA margin 12.2% 11.8% –
Operating margin 9.3% 11.2% –
Pretax margin 11.9% 6.0% –
Net margin 9.0% 10.2% –
FCF margin 9.4% – –
Operating cash flow margin 12.1% – 13.6%
Return on equity 12.8% 108.0% –
Return on assets 9.3% 12.6% –
Return on invested capital 10.0% 18.4% –
Return on capital employed 11.2% 17.3% –
Asset turnover 1.0x 1.2x 1.6x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.3x – 1.3x
Stock comp / revenue 0.3% – 1.2%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricNHCAVAHCHE
Debt / assets – 61.6% –
Debt / equity – 4.5x –
Net debt / EBITDA – 4.0x –
Debt / FCF – – –
Liabilities / assets 26.6% 86.4% 49.9%
Equity / assets 73.4% 13.6% 50.1%
Interest coverage 56.6x 2.2x –
Current ratio 1.9x 1.2x 1.1x
Quick ratio 1.5x 1.1x –
Cash ratio 0.9x 0.2x –
Altman Z-score 7.18 1.89 –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricNHCAVAHCHE
Dividend yield 1.2% – 0.5%
Net buyback yield 0.1% – –
Shareholder yield 1.4% – 0.5%
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.

ConsensusNHCAVAHCHE
Forward P/E – 14.9xFY2026 19.2xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year – $0.85FY2026 $26.52FY2026
EPS growth, next FY – +41.7%FY2026 +23.1%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after – +11.8% +8.0%
Revenue, next fiscal year – $2.76BFY2026 $2.66BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY – +13.4%FY2026 +5.1%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after – +8.7% +15.2%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersNHCAVAHCHE
Held by institutions 65.3% 92.5% 100.0%
Institutions holding 250 215 527
Change in shares held, QoQ -0.6% +1.8% +2.8%
Institutions buying 136 151 276
Institutions selling 72 52 186
Buyers to sellers 1.89 2.90 1.48

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.

NHCAVAHCHE
NHC 1.00 0.21 0.25
AVAH 0.21 1.00 0.17
CHE 0.25 0.17 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, NHC, AVAH and CHE?

Chemed (CHE) is the largest by market capitalisation: National Healthcare (NHC) $3.30B, Aveanna Healthcare Holdings (AVAH) $2.84B, Chemed (CHE) $7.06B.

Which stock is cheaper, NHC, AVAH and CHE?

Aveanna Healthcare Holdings (AVAH) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (National Healthcare (NHC) 23.6x, Aveanna Healthcare Holdings (AVAH) 10.9x, Chemed (CHE) 25.0x). On next year's consensus earnings, Aveanna Healthcare Holdings (AVAH) is cheapest (Aveanna Healthcare Holdings (AVAH) 14.9x, Chemed (CHE) 19.2x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Aveanna Healthcare Holdings (AVAH) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: National Healthcare (NHC) +6.9%, Aveanna Healthcare Holdings (AVAH) +16.8%, Chemed (CHE) +5.2%.

Which company is more profitable?

Aveanna Healthcare Holdings (AVAH) has the highest net margin (National Healthcare (NHC) 9.0%, Aveanna Healthcare Holdings (AVAH) 10.2%). On return on invested capital, Aveanna Healthcare Holdings (AVAH) leads (National Healthcare (NHC) 10.0%, Aveanna Healthcare Holdings (AVAH) 18.4%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year National Healthcare (NHC) returned the most: National Healthcare (NHC) +76.8%, Aveanna Healthcare Holdings (AVAH) +31.9%, Chemed (CHE) +16.4%. Over five years, National Healthcare (NHC) compounded fastest (National Healthcare (NHC) +25.5%/yr, Aveanna Healthcare Holdings (AVAH) +10.7%/yr, Chemed (CHE) +2.6%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: National Healthcare (NHC) 0.01%, Aveanna Healthcare Holdings (AVAH) 0.00%, Chemed (CHE) 0.00%. Aveanna Healthcare Holdings (AVAH) and Chemed (CHE) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Chemed (CHE) has been the steadiest (National Healthcare (NHC) 34.7%, Aveanna Healthcare Holdings (AVAH) 47.7%, Chemed (CHE) 29.8%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, NHC, AVAH and CHE?

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