NHC vs NUTX vs CHE Stock Comparison

National Healthcare, Nutex Health and Chemed Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
NHC National Healthcare Corp
$223.59 -1.4% 1M +82.2% 1Y
Market cap
$3.32B
P/E
23.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$1.56B
Div. yield
0.01%
Home Health and Senior Care Healthcare
3 wins
NUTX Nutex Health Inc.
$209.01 -5.0% 1M +66.4% 1Y
Market cap
$1.42B
P/E
7.9x
Revenue (TTM)
$846.72M
Div. yield
0.06%
Hospitals Healthcare
7 wins
CHE Chemed Corp
$513.32 +0.3% 1M +17.6% 1Y
Market cap
$6.62B
P/E
24.1x
Revenue (TTM)
$2.60B
Div. yield
0.01%
Home Health and Senior Care Healthcare
2 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Nutex Health leads on 7 of the 12 questions below (Nutex Health 7, National Healthcare 3, Chemed 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionNHCNUTXCHELeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $3.32B $1.42B $6.62B CHE
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 23.6x 7.9x 24.1x NUTX
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS — 7.5x 19.4x NUTX
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +6.9% +6.9% +3.3% NHC
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 9.0% 21.2% 10.6% NUTX
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 10.0% 56.1% 27.2% NUTX
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — -0.4x 0.2x NUTX
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.01% 0.06% 0.01% NUTX
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +82.2% +66.4% +17.6% NHC
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +27.4%/yr — +3.1%/yr NHC
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 34.4% 89.4% 29.9% CHE
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 77/100 82/100 59/100 NUTX

Percentile Scorecard

NHCNUTXCHE

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

AxisNHCNUTXCHE
Valuation 73 #26 of 93 96 #5 of 93 57 #41 of 93
Growth 79 #19 of 88 91 #9 of 88 14 #76 of 88
Profitability 76 #22 of 87 99 #2 of 87 92 #8 of 87
Financial Health 88 #13 of 100 89 #12 of 100 67 #34 of 100
Shareholder Returns 67 #19 of 56 36 #36 of 56 64 #21 of 56
Overall 77 82 59
  • NHC ranked among 103 companies in Healthcare Providers
  • NUTX ranked among 103 companies in Healthcare Providers
  • CHE ranked among 103 companies in Healthcare Providers

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodNHCNUTXCHESPY
1 month -1.4%-5.0%+0.3% -0.8%
3 months -1.1%+40.6%+0.9% +3.5%
6 months +26.8%+88.7%+21.4% +7.0%
Year to date +63.1%+27.0%+20.0% +12.2%
1 year +82.2%+66.4%+17.6% +13.0%
3 years +238.3%+665.6%-9.1% +86.3%
3 years, per year +50.2%+97.2%-3.1% +23.1%
5 years +235.8%—+16.2% +68.6%
5 years, per year +27.4%—+3.1% +11.0%
10 years +240.7%—+275.9% +258.0%
10 years, per year +13.0%—+14.2% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureNHCNUTXCHESPY
Volatility, 1Y 34.4%89.4%29.9% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 31.6%88.1%33.3% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.151.780.01 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 2.390.740.59 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -34.4%-99.9%-43.4% -25.4%
From 52-week high -9.6%-7.1%-7.1% -1.8%
52-week high $247.31$225.00$552.43 $779.14
52-week low $119.44$87.01$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.

MultipleNHCNUTXCHE
P/E now vs peer median 24.9xmedian 25.1x 8.0xmedian 25.1x 24.6xmedian 25.1x
P/S now vs peer median 2.2xmedian 1.6x 1.7xmedian 1.6x 2.6xmedian 1.6x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 17.3xmedian 14.5x 3.3xmedian 14.5x 16.4xmedian 14.5x
P/FCF now vs peer median 23.9xmedian 22.4x 5.2xmedian 22.4x 20.7xmedian 22.4x
P/B now vs peer median 3.1xmedian 3.1x 2.8xmedian 3.1x 8.1xmedian 3.1x
PEG now vs peer median 0.40median 0.66 0.26median 0.66 2.07median 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 monthsNHCNUTXCHE
Revenue $1.56B $846.72M $2.60B
Gross profit – $434.03M $859.31M
Operating income $144.68M $364.27M $349.19M
Net income $142.84M $272.49M $274.99M
Free cash flow $146.53M $274.17M $323.61M
EPS (diluted) $8.84 $25.62 $20.83
Cash & equivalents $39.21M $205.21M $40.22M
Total debt – $39.70M $140.00M
Shares (diluted) 15.86M 7.02M 13.20M
Enterprise value $2.30B $651.91M $6.36B

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
MetricNHCNUTXCHE
P/E 24.9x 8.0x 24.6x
P/FCF 23.9x 5.2x 20.7x
P/Operating cash flow 18.5x 5.1x 17.2x
P/S 2.2x 1.7x 2.6x
P/B 3.1x 2.8x 8.1x
P/Tangible book 3.2x 2.9x 8.9x
EV/EBITDA 17.3x 3.3x 16.4x
EV/EBIT 22.8x 3.5x 19.5x
EV/Revenue 2.1x 1.5x 2.6x
EV/FCF 22.5x 4.6x 21.0x
EV/Operating cash flow 17.4x 4.5x 17.5x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.40 0.26 2.07

Growth

14 metrics
MetricNHCNUTXCHE
Revenue growth (1Y) 6.9% 6.9% 3.3%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 12.8% 62.5% 5.9%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – 6.7% 1.7%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – 273.1% 4.8%
Operating income growth (1Y) 24.1% 52.9% -5.3%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 57.4% 41.4% 4.7%
Net income growth (1Y) 35.9% 119.2% -5.3%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 68.9% 37.7% 6.7%
EPS growth (1Y) 31.6% 206.2% 5.5%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 61.9% 31.2% 11.9%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 26.7% 228.7% -8.6%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 44.1% 446.8% 4.2%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 23.2% 229.4% -12.9%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 58.0% 266.5% 5.0%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricNHCNUTXCHE
Gross margin – 51.3% 33.1%
EBITDA margin 12.2% 45.5% 16.0%
Operating margin 9.3% 43.0% 13.5%
Pretax margin 11.9% 40.6% 14.2%
Net margin 9.0% 21.2% 10.6%
FCF margin 9.4% 32.4% 12.5%
Operating cash flow margin 12.1% 33.0% 15.0%
Return on equity 12.8% 57.4% 32.8%
Return on assets 9.3% 28.4% 17.7%
Return on invested capital 10.0% 56.1% 27.2%
Return on capital employed 11.2% 43.2% 28.2%
Asset turnover 1.0x 0.9x 1.7x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.3x 1.0x 1.4x
Stock comp / revenue 0.3% 1.1% 1.3%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricNHCNUTXCHE
Debt / assets – 4.1% 8.9%
Debt / equity – 0.1x 0.2x
Net debt / EBITDA – -0.4x 0.2x
Debt / FCF – 0.1x 0.4x
Liabilities / assets 26.6% 47.4% 47.4%
Equity / assets 73.4% 52.6% 52.6%
Interest coverage 56.6x 18.4x 106.5x
Current ratio 1.9x 5.0x 0.9x
Quick ratio 1.5x 4.8x 0.7x
Cash ratio 0.9x 1.8x 0.1x
Altman Z-score 7.43 4.33 10.45

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricNHCNUTXCHE
Dividend yield 1.2% – 0.5%
Net buyback yield 0.1% -0.1% 9.5%
Shareholder yield 1.3% -0.1% 10.0%
Payout ratio (earnings) 27.8% 30.9% 12.1%
Payout ratio (FCF) 27.1% 30.7% 10.3%
Dividend growth (1Y) 5.6% 260.2% 12.4%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 4.3% 140.0% 13.5%

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.

ConsensusNHCNUTXCHE
Forward P/E – 7.5xFY2026 19.4xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year – $27.99FY2026 $26.52FY2026
EPS growth, next FY – +167.1%FY2026 +23.1%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after – -8.6% +8.0%
Revenue, next fiscal year – $824.09MFY2026 $2.66BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY – -5.8%FY2026 +5.1%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after – +19.4% +15.2%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersNHCNUTXCHE
Held by institutions 65.3% 42.8% 100.0%
Institutions holding 250 153 527
Change in shares held, QoQ -0.6% +5.8% +2.8%
Institutions buying 136 99 276
Institutions selling 72 36 186
Buyers to sellers 1.89 2.75 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.

NHCNUTXCHE
NHC 1.00 0.07 0.23
NUTX 0.07 1.00 -0.05
CHE 0.23 -0.05 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, NHC, NUTX and CHE?

Chemed (CHE) is the largest by market capitalisation: National Healthcare (NHC) $3.32B, Nutex Health (NUTX) $1.42B, Chemed (CHE) $6.62B.

Which stock is cheaper, NHC, NUTX and CHE?

Nutex Health (NUTX) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (National Healthcare (NHC) 23.6x, Nutex Health (NUTX) 7.9x, Chemed (CHE) 24.1x). On next year's consensus earnings, Nutex Health (NUTX) is cheapest (Nutex Health (NUTX) 7.5x, Chemed (CHE) 19.4x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

National Healthcare (NHC) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: National Healthcare (NHC) +6.9%, Nutex Health (NUTX) +6.9%, Chemed (CHE) +3.3%.

Which company is more profitable?

Nutex Health (NUTX) has the highest net margin (National Healthcare (NHC) 9.0%, Nutex Health (NUTX) 21.2%, Chemed (CHE) 10.6%). On return on invested capital, Nutex Health (NUTX) leads (National Healthcare (NHC) 10.0%, Nutex Health (NUTX) 56.1%, Chemed (CHE) 27.2%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year National Healthcare (NHC) returned the most: National Healthcare (NHC) +82.2%, Nutex Health (NUTX) +66.4%, Chemed (CHE) +17.6%. Over five years, National Healthcare (NHC) compounded fastest (National Healthcare (NHC) +27.4%/yr, Chemed (CHE) +3.1%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Nutex Health (NUTX) has the highest dividend yield: National Healthcare (NHC) 0.01%, Nutex Health (NUTX) 0.06%, Chemed (CHE) 0.01%.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Chemed (CHE) has been the steadiest (National Healthcare (NHC) 34.4%, Nutex Health (NUTX) 89.4%, Chemed (CHE) 29.9%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, NHC, NUTX 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, Nutex Health (NUTX) leads on 7. 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.