NHC vs OPCH vs ADUS Stock Comparison

National Healthcare, Option Care Health and Addus HomeCare Prices as of Oct 27, 2026 Peers: Industry group
NHC National Healthcare Corp
$212.79 -6.1% 1M +76.8% 1Y
Market cap
$3.33B
P/E
23.7x
Revenue (TTM)
$1.56B
Div. yield
0.01%
Home Health and Senior Care Healthcare
5 wins
OPCH Option Care Health, Inc.
$31.29 +35.6% 1M +12.4% 1Y
Market cap
$4.78B
P/E
22.8x
Revenue (TTM)
$5.69B
Div. yield
–
Home Health and Senior Care Healthcare
2 wins
ADUS Addus HomeCare Corp
$121.24 +7.1% 1M -0.2% 1Y
Market cap
$2.25B
P/E
21.4x
Revenue (TTM)
$1.48B
Div. yield
–
Home Health and Senior Care Healthcare
4 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

National Healthcare leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (National Healthcare 5, Addus HomeCare 4, Option Care Health 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionNHCOPCHADUSLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $3.33B $4.78B $2.25B OPCH
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 23.7x 22.8x 21.4x ADUS
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS — 16.1x 16.8x OPCH
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +6.9% +5.9% +15.9% ADUS
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 9.0% 3.7% 7.1% NHC
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 10.0% 9.9% 9.2% NHC
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — 2.4x -0.2x ADUS
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.01% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +76.8% +12.4% -0.2% NHC
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +25.5%/yr +3.0%/yr +6.7%/yr NHC
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 34.7% 52.0% 29.2% ADUS
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 78/100 53/100 69/100 NHC

Percentile Scorecard

NHCOPCHADUS

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

AxisNHCOPCHADUS
Valuation 77 #22 of 92 80 #19 of 92 86 #14 of 92
Growth 79 #19 of 87 24 #66 of 87 61 #35 of 87
Profitability 80 #18 of 86 67 #29 of 86 73 #24 of 86
Financial Health 88 #13 of 97 42 #57 of 97 87 #14 of 97
Shareholder Returns 67 #19 of 56 – 40 #34 of 56
Overall 78 53 69
  • NHC ranked among 102 companies in Healthcare Providers
  • OPCH ranked among 102 companies in Healthcare Providers
  • ADUS ranked among 102 companies in Healthcare Providers

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodNHCOPCHADUSSPY
1 month -6.1%+35.6%+7.1% -0.2%
3 months -7.8%+39.2%+1.7% +3.9%
6 months +21.8%+12.7%+22.7% +8.2%
Year to date +55.2%-1.8%+12.9% +12.9%
1 year +76.8%+12.4%-0.2% +12.3%
3 years +221.9%+17.5%+48.0% +87.4%
3 years, per year +47.7%+5.5%+14.0% +23.3%
5 years +211.4%+15.8%+38.6% +67.9%
5 years, per year +25.5%+3.0%+6.7% +10.9%
10 years +228.6%—+379.6% +261.1%
10 years, per year +12.6%—+17.0% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureNHCOPCHADUSSPY
Volatility, 1Y 34.7%52.0%29.2% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 32.3%50.4%30.8% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.130.050.18 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 2.210.24-0.01 0.97
Max drawdown, 5Y -34.4%-46.7%-34.9% -25.4%
From 52-week high -14.0%-14.5%-1.2% -1.2%
52-week high $247.31$36.59$122.75 $779.14
52-week low $119.44$19.52$88.49 $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.

MultipleNHCOPCHADUS
P/E now vs peer median 23.7xmedian 24.6x 22.8xmedian 24.6x 21.1xmedian 24.6x
P/S now vs peer median 2.1xmedian 1.6x 0.8xmedian 1.6x 1.5xmedian 1.6x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 16.4xmedian 14.6x 13.8xmedian 14.6x 13.4xmedian 14.6x
P/FCF now vs peer median 22.7xmedian 21.6x 15.4xmedian 21.6x 14.6xmedian 21.6x
P/B now vs peer median 3.0xmedian 3.2x 3.7xmedian 3.2x 2.0xmedian 3.2x
PEG now vs peer median 0.38median 0.66 22.11median 0.66 1.06median 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 monthsNHCOPCHADUS
Revenue $1.56B $5.69B $1.48B
Gross profit – $1.09B $477.75M
Operating income $144.68M $333.69M $148.23M
Net income $142.84M $209.58M $105.31M
Free cash flow $146.53M $303.85M $154.77M
EPS (diluted) $8.84 $1.37 $5.70
Cash & equivalents $39.21M $193.77M $99.57M
Total debt – $1.16B $61.60M
Shares (diluted) 15.86M 153.49M 18.47M
Enterprise value $2.31B $3.87B $1.86B

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
MetricNHCOPCHADUS
P/E 23.7x 22.8x 21.1x
P/FCF 22.7x 15.4x 14.6x
P/Operating cash flow 17.7x 13.5x 13.9x
P/S 2.1x 0.8x 1.5x
P/B 3.0x 3.7x 2.0x
P/Tangible book 3.0x 4.8x 2.2x
EV/EBITDA 16.4x 13.8x 13.4x
EV/EBIT 21.6x 16.9x 15.0x
EV/Revenue 2.0x 1.0x 1.5x
EV/FCF 21.3x 18.6x 14.4x
EV/Operating cash flow 16.5x 16.3x 13.7x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.38 22.11 1.06

Growth

14 metrics
MetricNHCOPCHADUS
Revenue growth (1Y) 6.9% 5.9% 15.9%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 12.8% 11.3% 13.9%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – 2.6% 15.1%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – 5.3% 14.9%
Operating income growth (1Y) 24.1% -0.1% 27.5%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 57.4% 6.3% 23.6%
Net income growth (1Y) 35.9% -0.8% 26.9%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 68.9% -4.4% 25.1%
EPS growth (1Y) 31.6% 6.1% 26.0%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 61.9% 1.0% 19.9%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 26.7% 24.0% 61.7%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 44.1% -3.8% 16.4%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 23.2% 26.0% 65.3%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 58.0% -4.7% 17.9%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricNHCOPCHADUS
Gross margin – 19.1% 32.4%
EBITDA margin 12.2% 7.2% 11.3%
Operating margin 9.3% 5.9% 10.0%
Pretax margin 11.9% 5.0% 9.5%
Net margin 9.0% 3.7% 7.1%
FCF margin 9.4% 5.3% 10.5%
Operating cash flow margin 12.1% 6.1% 11.0%
Return on equity 12.8% 16.0% 9.3%
Return on assets 9.3% 6.2% 7.3%
Return on invested capital 10.0% 9.9% 9.2%
Return on capital employed 11.2% 13.0% 11.6%
Asset turnover 1.0x 1.7x 1.0x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.3x 1.7x 1.5x
Stock comp / revenue 0.3% 0.7% 1.2%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricNHCOPCHADUS
Debt / assets – 34.3% 4.2%
Debt / equity – 0.9x 0.1x
Net debt / EBITDA – 2.4x -0.2x
Debt / FCF – 3.8x 0.4x
Liabilities / assets 26.6% 62.7% 21.2%
Equity / assets 73.4% 37.3% 78.8%
Interest coverage 56.6x 6.2x 14.9x
Current ratio 1.9x 1.5x 1.7x
Quick ratio 1.5x 1.0x 1.5x
Cash ratio 0.9x 0.2x 0.6x
Altman Z-score 7.18 3.88 6.36

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricNHCOPCHADUS
Dividend yield 1.2% – –
Net buyback yield 0.1% – -0.1%
Shareholder yield 1.4% – -0.1%
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.

ConsensusNHCOPCHADUS
Forward P/E – 16.1xFY2026 16.8xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year – $1.94FY2026 $7.20FY2026
EPS growth, next FY – +12.8%FY2026 +15.6%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after – +12.9% +11.1%
Revenue, next fiscal year – $5.93BFY2026 $1.57BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY – +5.0%FY2026 +10.8%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after – -2.1% +6.1%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersNHCOPCHADUS
Held by institutions 65.3% 100.0% 100.0%
Institutions holding 250 372 303
Change in shares held, QoQ -0.6% -4.6% +0.8%
Institutions buying 136 212 162
Institutions selling 72 121 94
Buyers to sellers 1.89 1.75 1.72

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.

NHCOPCHADUS
NHC 1.00 0.12 0.35
OPCH 0.12 1.00 0.25
ADUS 0.35 0.25 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, NHC, OPCH and ADUS?

Option Care Health (OPCH) is the largest by market capitalisation: National Healthcare (NHC) $3.33B, Option Care Health (OPCH) $4.78B, Addus HomeCare (ADUS) $2.25B.

Which stock is cheaper, NHC, OPCH and ADUS?

Addus HomeCare (ADUS) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (National Healthcare (NHC) 23.7x, Option Care Health (OPCH) 22.8x, Addus HomeCare (ADUS) 21.4x). On next year's consensus earnings, Option Care Health (OPCH) is cheapest (Option Care Health (OPCH) 16.1x, Addus HomeCare (ADUS) 16.8x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Addus HomeCare (ADUS) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: National Healthcare (NHC) +6.9%, Option Care Health (OPCH) +5.9%, Addus HomeCare (ADUS) +15.9%.

Which company is more profitable?

National Healthcare (NHC) has the highest net margin (National Healthcare (NHC) 9.0%, Option Care Health (OPCH) 3.7%, Addus HomeCare (ADUS) 7.1%). On return on invested capital, National Healthcare (NHC) leads (National Healthcare (NHC) 10.0%, Option Care Health (OPCH) 9.9%, Addus HomeCare (ADUS) 9.2%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year National Healthcare (NHC) returned the most: National Healthcare (NHC) +76.8%, Option Care Health (OPCH) +12.4%, Addus HomeCare (ADUS) -0.2%. Over five years, National Healthcare (NHC) compounded fastest (National Healthcare (NHC) +25.5%/yr, Option Care Health (OPCH) +3.0%/yr, Addus HomeCare (ADUS) +6.7%/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%, Option Care Health (OPCH) 0.00%, Addus HomeCare (ADUS) 0.00%. Option Care Health (OPCH) and Addus HomeCare (ADUS) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Addus HomeCare (ADUS) has been the steadiest (National Healthcare (NHC) 34.7%, Option Care Health (OPCH) 52.0%, Addus HomeCare (ADUS) 29.2%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, NHC, OPCH and ADUS?

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