NHI vs AHR vs CTRE Stock Comparison

National Health Investors, American Healthcare REIT and CareTrust REIT Prices as of Nov 3, 2026 Peers: Industry group
CTRE CareTrust REIT, Inc.
$36.72 +1.2% 1M +4.0% 1Y
Market cap
$8.89B
P/E
25.0x
Revenue (TTM)
$571.43M
Div. yield
0.03%
Healthcare REITs Real Estate
6 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

CareTrust REIT leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (CareTrust REIT 6, American Healthcare REIT 3, National Health Investors 3). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionNHIAHRCTRELeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $3.46B $10.87B $8.89B AHR
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 20.8x 89.8x 25.0x NHI
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 19.0x 90.1x 22.7x NHI
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +23.9% +16.4% +53.0% CTRE
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 38.5% 4.8% 62.2% CTRE
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — -35.5% 8.4% CTRE
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 4.2x -0.8x 0.8x AHR
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.02% 0.03% CTRE
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -7.9% +20.1% +4.0% AHR
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +5.2%/yr — +12.8%/yr CTRE
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 24.0% 26.7% 25.0% NHI
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 55/100 45/100 71/100 CTRE

Percentile Scorecard

NHIAHRCTRE

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

AxisNHIAHRCTRE
Valuation 37 #93 of 146 5 #139 of 146 21 #115 of 146
Growth 60 #58 of 145 88 #18 of 145 99 #2 of 145
Profitability 81 #28 of 141 29 #100 of 141 82 #26 of 141
Financial Health 72 #41 of 146 78 #33 of 146 99 #3 of 146
Shareholder Returns 26 #101 of 136 25 #102 of 136 55 #62 of 136
Overall 55 45 71
  • NHI ranked among 149 companies in Property REITs
  • AHR ranked among 149 companies in Property REITs
  • CTRE ranked among 149 companies in Property REITs

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodNHIAHRCTRESPY
1 month +4.7%+8.2%+1.2% -2.0%
3 months -7.7%+0.9%-10.1% -2.2%
6 months -5.8%+10.6%-6.7% +4.2%
Year to date -9.9%+16.7%+1.5% +10.6%
1 year -7.9%+20.1%+4.0% +10.4%
3 years +33.8%—+69.4% +73.6%
3 years, per year +10.2%—+19.2% +20.2%
5 years +29.1%—+82.1% +61.6%
5 years, per year +5.2%—+12.8% +10.1%
10 years -3.4%—+178.6% +261.3%
10 years, per year -0.3%—+10.8% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureNHIAHRCTRESPY
Volatility, 1Y 24.0%26.7%25.0% 12.8%
Downside volatility, 1Y 26.1%27.6%25.8% 12.8%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y -0.36-0.04-0.03 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.330.750.16 0.81
Max drawdown, 5Y -29.7%-14.5%-30.1% -25.4%
From 52-week high -24.4%-4.8%-15.4% -3.2%
52-week high $91.02$57.74$43.39 $779.14
52-week low $63.97$45.69$35.31 $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.

MultipleNHIAHRCTRE
P/E now vs peer median 20.0xmedian 26.1x 87.5xmedian 26.1x 24.2xmedian 26.1x
P/S now vs peer median 7.7xmedian 4.1x 4.3xmedian 4.1x 15.2xmedian 4.1x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 15.6xmedian 14.4x -7.8xmedian 14.4x 17.1xmedian 14.4x
P/FCF now vs peer median -26.8xmedian 21.6x -17.4xmedian 21.6x -24.5xmedian 21.6x
P/B now vs peer median 2.1xmedian 1.3x 2.9xmedian 1.3x 1.9xmedian 1.3x
PEG now vs peer median 1.92median 1.95 2.56median 1.95 0.37median 1.95

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 monthsNHIAHRCTRE
Revenue $432.12M $2.50B $571.43M
Gross profit – $530.21M –
Operating income – -$1.81B –
Net income $166.80M $122.57M $355.43M
Free cash flow -$124.29M -$613.49M -$353.37M
EPS (diluted) $3.43 $0.63 $1.52
Cash & equivalents $30.39M $191.62M $47.59M
Total debt $1.27B $1.42B $496.81M
Shares (diluted) 48.50M 193.35M 234.24M
Enterprise value $3.30B $10.19B $7.71B

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
MetricNHIAHRCTRE
P/E 20.0x 87.5x 24.2x
P/FCF -26.8x -17.4x -24.5x
P/Operating cash flow 13.4x 29.5x 19.4x
P/S 7.7x 4.3x 15.2x
P/B 2.1x 2.9x 1.9x
P/Tangible book 2.1x 3.1x 1.9x
EV/EBITDA 15.6x -7.8x 17.1x
EV/EBIT 22.3x -6.6x 22.0x
EV/Revenue 10.6x 4.8x 16.0x
EV/FCF -36.8x -19.4x -25.8x
EV/Operating cash flow 18.4x 32.9x 20.4x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 1.92 2.56 0.37

Growth

14 metrics
MetricNHIAHRCTRE
Revenue growth (1Y) 23.9% 16.4% 53.0%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 12.0% 15.4% 40.9%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – 19.6% –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – 41.1% –
Operating income growth (1Y) – -17.0% –
Operating income CAGR (3Y) – -5.6% –
Net income growth (1Y) 16.7% 479.7% 61.6%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 14.7% 47.6% 119.0%
EPS growth (1Y) 12.6% 407.6% 33.0%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 10.4% 34.2% 64.4%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 17.0% 42.1% 42.1%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 13.2% 38.8% 46.2%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -165.9% -1,653% 68.6%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -43.5% -157.7% -107.8%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricNHIAHRCTRE
Gross margin – 21.2% –
EBITDA margin 67.8% -61.2% 93.2%
Operating margin – -72.4% –
Pretax margin 33.7% 3.9% 63.6%
Net margin 38.5% 4.8% 62.2%
FCF margin -28.8% -24.5% -61.8%
Operating cash flow margin 57.5% 14.5% 78.2%
Return on equity 10.7% 3.4% 8.2%
Return on assets 5.7% 2.2% 6.4%
Return on invested capital – -35.5% 8.4%
Return on capital employed – – –
Asset turnover 0.1x 0.4x 0.1x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.5x 3.0x 1.3x
Stock comp / revenue 1.5% 0.8% 2.0%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricNHIAHRCTRE
Debt / assets 43.0% 25.0% 8.4%
Debt / equity 0.8x 0.4x 0.1x
Net debt / EBITDA 4.2x -0.8x 0.8x
Debt / FCF -10.3x -2.3x -1.4x
Liabilities / assets 46.7% 34.4% 24.1%
Equity / assets 53.3% 65.6% 75.9%
Interest coverage 3.5x -23.3x 8.2x
Current ratio – – –
Quick ratio – – –
Cash ratio – – –
Altman Z-score – – –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricNHIAHRCTRE
Dividend yield 5.4% 1.8% 4.1%
Net buyback yield -3.1% -12.5% -13.7%
Shareholder yield 2.3% -10.7% -9.6%
Payout ratio (earnings) – 145.7% 85.9%
Payout ratio (FCF) – -29.1% -86.4%
Dividend growth (1Y) – 18.4% 44.0%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – 40.8% 41.1%

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.

ConsensusNHIAHRCTRE
Forward P/E 19.0xFY2026 90.1xFY2026 22.7xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $3.63FY2026 $0.61FY2026 $1.62FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +20.2%FY2026 +45.2%FY2026 +3.2%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after -17.1% +31.1% +8.6%
Revenue, next fiscal year $295.49MFY2026 $2.64BFY2026 $532.91MFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +8.8%FY2026 +16.7%FY2026 +44.7%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after -0.4% +27.1% +14.6%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersNHIAHRCTRE
Held by institutions 78.7% 100.0% 100.0%
Institutions holding 305 573 516
Change in shares held, QoQ +11.1% +19.9% +8.8%
Institutions buying 157 335 283
Institutions selling 91 165 163
Buyers to sellers 1.73 2.03 1.74

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.

NHIAHRCTRE
NHI 1.00 0.65 0.69
AHR 0.65 1.00 0.71
CTRE 0.69 0.71 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, NHI, AHR and CTRE?

American Healthcare REIT (AHR) is the largest by market capitalisation: National Health Investors (NHI) $3.46B, American Healthcare REIT (AHR) $10.87B, CareTrust REIT (CTRE) $8.89B.

Which stock is cheaper, NHI, AHR and CTRE?

National Health Investors (NHI) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (National Health Investors (NHI) 20.8x, American Healthcare REIT (AHR) 89.8x, CareTrust REIT (CTRE) 25.0x). On next year's consensus earnings, National Health Investors (NHI) is cheapest (National Health Investors (NHI) 19.0x, American Healthcare REIT (AHR) 90.1x, CareTrust REIT (CTRE) 22.7x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

CareTrust REIT (CTRE) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: National Health Investors (NHI) +23.9%, American Healthcare REIT (AHR) +16.4%, CareTrust REIT (CTRE) +53.0%.

Which company is more profitable?

CareTrust REIT (CTRE) has the highest net margin (National Health Investors (NHI) 38.5%, American Healthcare REIT (AHR) 4.8%, CareTrust REIT (CTRE) 62.2%). On return on invested capital, CareTrust REIT (CTRE) leads (American Healthcare REIT (AHR) -35.5%, CareTrust REIT (CTRE) 8.4%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year American Healthcare REIT (AHR) returned the most: National Health Investors (NHI) -7.9%, American Healthcare REIT (AHR) +20.1%, CareTrust REIT (CTRE) +4.0%. Over five years, CareTrust REIT (CTRE) compounded fastest (National Health Investors (NHI) +5.2%/yr, CareTrust REIT (CTRE) +12.8%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

CareTrust REIT (CTRE) has the highest dividend yield: National Health Investors (NHI) 0.00%, American Healthcare REIT (AHR) 0.02%, CareTrust REIT (CTRE) 0.03%. National Health Investors (NHI) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, National Health Investors (NHI) has been the steadiest (National Health Investors (NHI) 24.0%, American Healthcare REIT (AHR) 26.7%, CareTrust REIT (CTRE) 25.0%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, NHI, AHR and CTRE?

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