NHI vs CTRE vs LTC Stock Comparison

National Health Investors, CareTrust REIT and Ltc Properties Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
CTRE CareTrust REIT, Inc.
$36.95 -1.2% 1M +5.1% 1Y
Market cap
$8.51B
P/E
23.9x
Revenue (TTM)
$571.43M
Div. yield
0.04%
Healthcare REITs Real Estate
6 wins
LTC Ltc Properties Inc
$43.97 +2.4% 1M +24.4% 1Y
Market cap
$2.24B
P/E
16.7x
Revenue (TTM)
$347.85M
Div. yield
–
Healthcare REITs Real Estate
4 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

CareTrust REIT leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (CareTrust REIT 6, Ltc Properties 4, National Health Investors 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionNHICTRELTCLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $3.23B $8.51B $2.24B CTRE
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 19.4x 23.9x 16.7x LTC
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 18.6x 22.8x 18.6x NHI
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +23.9% +53.0% +59.8% LTC
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 38.5% 62.2% 38.7% CTRE
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — 8.4% 4.4% CTRE
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 4.2x 0.8x 5.3x CTRE
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.04% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -10.3% +5.1% +24.4% LTC
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +3.4%/yr +11.9%/yr +5.3%/yr CTRE
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 24.1% 25.1% 20.8% LTC
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 57/100 70/100 45/100 CTRE

Percentile Scorecard

NHICTRELTC

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

AxisNHICTRELTC
Valuation 39 #89 of 145 19 #118 of 145 16 #122 of 145
Growth 65 #50 of 142 97 #6 of 142 73 #39 of 142
Profitability 80 #28 of 136 85 #21 of 136 52 #66 of 136
Financial Health 72 #40 of 139 99 #3 of 139 79 #30 of 139
Shareholder Returns 27 #96 of 131 52 #64 of 131 7 #122 of 131
Overall 57 70 45
  • NHI ranked among 149 companies in Property REITs
  • CTRE ranked among 149 companies in Property REITs
  • LTC ranked among 149 companies in Property REITs

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodNHICTRELTCSPY
1 month +0.8%-1.2%+2.4% -0.8%
3 months -15.0%-14.0%+4.8% +3.5%
6 months -12.6%-4.7%+14.5% +7.0%
Year to date -11.7%+2.2%+27.9% +12.2%
1 year -10.3%+5.1%+24.4% +13.0%
3 years +36.6%+72.8%+43.5% +86.3%
3 years, per year +11.0%+20.0%+12.8% +23.1%
5 years +18.1%+75.2%+29.4% +68.6%
5 years, per year +3.4%+11.9%+5.3% +11.0%
10 years -12.3%+161.7%-12.0% +258.0%
10 years, per year -1.3%+10.1%-1.3% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureNHICTRELTCSPY
Volatility, 1Y 24.1%25.1%20.8% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 26.1%26.2%21.5% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y -0.36-0.02-0.27 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.430.201.18 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -29.7%-30.1%-32.9% -25.4%
From 52-week high -25.9%-14.8%0.0% -1.8%
52-week high $91.02$43.39$43.97 $779.14
52-week low $63.97$33.99$34.04 $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.

MultipleNHICTRELTC
P/E now vs peer median 19.6xmedian 27.4x 24.3xmedian 27.4x 16.9xmedian 27.4x
P/S now vs peer median 7.5xmedian 4.2x 15.3xmedian 4.2x 6.8xmedian 4.2x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 15.4xmedian 14.2x 17.2xmedian 14.2x 22.3xmedian 14.2x
P/FCF now vs peer median -26.2xmedian 23.2x -24.7xmedian 23.2x -6.1xmedian 23.2x
P/B now vs peer median 2.1xmedian 1.3x 1.9xmedian 1.3x 1.8xmedian 1.3x
PEG now vs peer median 1.88median 2.11 0.38median 2.11 1.13median 2.11

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 monthsNHICTRELTC
Revenue $432.12M $571.43M $347.85M
Net income $166.80M $355.43M $140.88M
Free cash flow -$124.29M -$353.37M -$389.60M
EPS (diluted) $3.43 $1.52 $2.58
Cash & equivalents $30.39M $47.59M $40.44M
Total debt $1.27B $496.81M $777.09M
Shares (diluted) 48.50M 234.24M 52.20M
Enterprise value $3.07B $7.33B $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
MetricNHICTRELTC
P/E 19.6x 24.3x 16.9x
P/FCF -26.2x -24.7x -6.1x
P/Operating cash flow 13.1x 19.5x 16.7x
P/S 7.5x 15.3x 6.8x
P/B 2.1x 1.9x 1.8x
P/Tangible book 2.1x 1.9x 1.8x
EV/EBITDA 15.4x 17.2x 22.3x
EV/EBIT 22.0x 22.1x 33.4x
EV/Revenue 10.4x 16.0x 8.9x
EV/FCF -36.2x -26.0x -8.0x
EV/Operating cash flow 18.1x 20.5x 22.0x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 1.88 0.38 1.13

Growth

14 metrics
MetricNHICTRELTC
Revenue growth (1Y) 23.9% 53.0% 59.8%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 12.0% 40.9% 22.5%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – – –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – – –
Operating income growth (1Y) – – –
Operating income CAGR (3Y) – – –
Net income growth (1Y) 16.7% 61.6% 57.9%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 14.7% 119.0% 25.2%
EPS growth (1Y) 12.6% 33.0% 44.0%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 10.4% 64.4% 15.0%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 17.0% 42.1% 11.0%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 13.2% 46.2% 10.9%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -165.9% 68.6% -429.9%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -43.5% -107.8% -113.4%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricNHICTRELTC
Gross margin – – –
EBITDA margin 67.8% 93.2% 40.0%
Operating margin – – –
Pretax margin 33.7% 63.6% 15.4%
Net margin 38.5% 62.2% 38.7%
FCF margin -28.8% -61.8% -112.0%
Operating cash flow margin 57.5% 78.2% 40.7%
Return on equity 10.7% 8.2% 11.2%
Return on assets 5.7% 6.4% 6.6%
Return on invested capital – 8.4% 4.4%
Return on capital employed – – –
Asset turnover 0.1x 0.1x 0.2x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.5x 1.3x 1.0x
Stock comp / revenue 1.5% 2.0% 2.5%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricNHICTRELTC
Debt / assets 43.0% 8.4% 35.7%
Debt / equity 0.8x 0.1x 0.6x
Net debt / EBITDA 4.2x 0.8x 5.3x
Debt / FCF -10.3x -1.4x -2.0x
Liabilities / assets 46.7% 24.1% 38.4%
Equity / assets 53.3% 75.9% 61.6%
Interest coverage 3.5x 8.2x 2.3x
Current ratio – – –
Quick ratio – – –
Cash ratio – – –
Altman Z-score – – –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricNHICTRELTC
Dividend yield 5.5% 4.1% 5.2%
Net buyback yield -3.2% -13.6% -12.0%
Shareholder yield 2.3% -9.6% -6.8%
Payout ratio (earnings) – 85.9% –
Payout ratio (FCF) – -86.4% –
Dividend growth (1Y) – 44.0% –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – 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.

ConsensusNHICTRELTC
Forward P/E 18.6xFY2026 22.8xFY2026 18.6xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $3.63FY2026 $1.62FY2026 $2.36FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +20.2%FY2026 +3.2%FY2026 -6.3%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after -16.8% +8.6% -25.4%
Revenue, next fiscal year $295.49MFY2026 $532.91MFY2026 $352.66MFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +8.8%FY2026 +44.7%FY2026 +84.9%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after -0.4% +14.6% +5.8%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersNHICTRELTC
Held by institutions 78.7% 100.0% 79.5%
Institutions holding 303 514 289
Change in shares held, QoQ +11.1% +8.8% +11.0%
Institutions buying 157 282 176
Institutions selling 90 162 68
Buyers to sellers 1.74 1.74 2.59

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.

NHICTRELTC
NHI 1.00 0.70 0.76
CTRE 0.70 1.00 0.71
LTC 0.76 0.71 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, NHI, CTRE and LTC?

CareTrust REIT (CTRE) is the largest by market capitalisation: National Health Investors (NHI) $3.23B, CareTrust REIT (CTRE) $8.51B, Ltc Properties (LTC) $2.24B.

Which stock is cheaper, NHI, CTRE and LTC?

Ltc Properties (LTC) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (National Health Investors (NHI) 19.4x, CareTrust REIT (CTRE) 23.9x, Ltc Properties (LTC) 16.7x). On next year's consensus earnings, National Health Investors (NHI) is cheapest (National Health Investors (NHI) 18.6x, CareTrust REIT (CTRE) 22.8x, Ltc Properties (LTC) 18.6x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Ltc Properties (LTC) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: National Health Investors (NHI) +23.9%, CareTrust REIT (CTRE) +53.0%, Ltc Properties (LTC) +59.8%.

Which company is more profitable?

CareTrust REIT (CTRE) has the highest net margin (National Health Investors (NHI) 38.5%, CareTrust REIT (CTRE) 62.2%, Ltc Properties (LTC) 38.7%). On return on invested capital, CareTrust REIT (CTRE) leads (CareTrust REIT (CTRE) 8.4%, Ltc Properties (LTC) 4.4%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Ltc Properties (LTC) returned the most: National Health Investors (NHI) -10.3%, CareTrust REIT (CTRE) +5.1%, Ltc Properties (LTC) +24.4%. Over five years, CareTrust REIT (CTRE) compounded fastest (National Health Investors (NHI) +3.4%/yr, CareTrust REIT (CTRE) +11.9%/yr, Ltc Properties (LTC) +5.3%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: National Health Investors (NHI) 0.00%, CareTrust REIT (CTRE) 0.04%, Ltc Properties (LTC) 0.00%. National Health Investors (NHI) and Ltc Properties (LTC) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Ltc Properties (LTC) has been the steadiest (National Health Investors (NHI) 24.1%, CareTrust REIT (CTRE) 25.1%, Ltc Properties (LTC) 20.8%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

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.