NHI vs CTRE vs WELL Stock Comparison

National Health Investors, CareTrust REIT and Welltower Prices as of Oct 27, 2026 Peers: Industry group
CTRE CareTrust REIT, Inc.
$36.13 -3.4% 1M +1.1% 1Y
Market cap
$8.53B
P/E
23.8x
Revenue (TTM)
$571.43M
Div. yield
4.17%
Healthcare REITs Real Estate
5 wins
WELL Welltower Inc.
$226.51 -2.1% 1M +24.0% 1Y
Market cap
$166.17B
P/E
98.4x
Revenue (TTM)
$13.79B
Div. yield
1.36%
Healthcare REITs Real Estate
4 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

CareTrust REIT leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (CareTrust REIT 5, Welltower 4, National Health Investors 3). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionNHICTREWELLLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $3.21B $8.53B $166.17B WELL
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 19.3x 23.8x 98.4x NHI
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 18.3x 22.3x 75.0x NHI
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +23.9% +53.0% +39.2% CTRE
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 38.5% 62.2% 12.1% CTRE
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — 8.4% -3.4% CTRE
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 4.2x 0.8x 26.6x CTRE
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 5.57% 4.17% 1.36% NHI
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -12.4% +1.1% +24.0% WELL
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +3.4%/yr +10.9%/yr +22.3%/yr WELL
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 24.1% 25.2% 23.5% WELL
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 57/100 71/100 37/100 CTRE

Percentile Scorecard

NHICTREWELL

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

AxisNHICTREWELL
Valuation 40 #88 of 145 21 #115 of 145 0 #145 of 145
Growth 67 #47 of 141 98 #4 of 141 81 #27 of 141
Profitability 82 #25 of 134 85 #21 of 134 20 #107 of 134
Financial Health 70 #42 of 138 99 #3 of 138 83 #25 of 138
Shareholder Returns 25 #99 of 131 52 #63 of 131 2 #129 of 131
Overall 57 71 37
  • NHI ranked among 149 companies in Property REITs
  • CTRE ranked among 149 companies in Property REITs
  • WELL ranked among 149 companies in Property REITs

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodNHICTREWELLSPY
1 month -0.8%-3.4%-2.1% -0.2%
3 months -15.5%-15.4%-7.1% +3.9%
6 months -13.3%-9.0%+5.7% +8.2%
Year to date -13.0%-0.1%+22.0% +12.9%
1 year -12.4%+1.1%+24.0% +12.3%
3 years +34.5%+69.0%+178.4% +87.4%
3 years, per year +10.4%+19.1%+40.7% +23.3%
5 years +18.1%+68.0%+173.8% +67.9%
5 years, per year +3.4%+10.9%+22.3% +10.9%
10 years -10.7%+160.5%+231.2% +261.1%
10 years, per year -1.1%+10.0%+12.7% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureNHICTREWELLSPY
Volatility, 1Y 24.1%25.2%23.5% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 26.0%26.3%25.4% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y -0.37-0.03-0.09 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.510.041.02 0.97
Max drawdown, 5Y -29.7%-30.1%-41.6% -25.4%
From 52-week high -27.0%-16.7%-10.2% -1.2%
52-week high $91.02$43.39$252.22 $779.14
52-week low $63.97$33.99$176.96 $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.

MultipleNHICTREWELL
P/E now vs peer median 19.3xmedian 26.3x 23.8xmedian 26.3x 98.4xmedian 26.3x
P/S now vs peer median 7.4xmedian 4.0x 14.9xmedian 4.0x 12.0xmedian 4.0x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 15.2xmedian 14.4x 16.9xmedian 14.4x 354.6xmedian 14.4x
P/FCF now vs peer median -25.8xmedian 23.3x -24.1xmedian 23.3x -9.3xmedian 23.3x
P/B now vs peer median 2.0xmedian 1.3x 1.9xmedian 1.3x 3.3xmedian 1.3x
PEG now vs peer median 1.85median 1.91 0.37median 1.91 1.49median 1.91

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 monthsNHICTREWELL
Revenue $432.12M $571.43M $13.79B
Gross profit – – $5.41B
Operating income – – -$2.20B
Net income $166.80M $355.43M $1.75B
Free cash flow -$124.29M -$353.37M -$17.96B
EPS (diluted) $3.43 $1.52 $2.21
Cash & equivalents $30.39M $47.59M $2.27B
Total debt $1.27B $496.81M $15.73B
Shares (diluted) 48.50M 234.24M 754.90M
Enterprise value $3.06B $7.36B $153.24B

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
MetricNHICTREWELL
P/E 19.3x 23.8x 98.4x
P/FCF -25.8x -24.1x -9.3x
P/Operating cash flow 12.9x 19.1x 49.9x
P/S 7.4x 14.9x 12.0x
P/B 2.0x 1.9x 3.3x
P/Tangible book 2.0x 1.9x 3.3x
EV/EBITDA 15.2x 16.9x 354.6x
EV/EBIT 21.7x 21.7x -81.6x
EV/Revenue 10.3x 15.7x 13.0x
EV/FCF -35.8x -25.4x -10.0x
EV/Operating cash flow 17.9x 20.1x 53.9x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 1.85 0.37 1.49

Growth

14 metrics
MetricNHICTREWELL
Revenue growth (1Y) 23.9% 53.0% 39.2%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 12.0% 40.9% 29.1%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – – 37.1%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – – 28.4%
Operating income growth (1Y) – – -344.7%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) – – -65.7%
Net income growth (1Y) 16.7% 61.6% 80.6%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 14.7% 119.0% 86.0%
EPS growth (1Y) 12.6% 33.0% 57.6%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 10.4% 64.4% 66.2%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 17.0% 42.1% 19.5%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 13.2% 46.2% 30.9%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -165.9% 68.6% -282.6%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -43.5% -107.8% -162.3%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricNHICTREWELL
Gross margin – – 39.2%
EBITDA margin 67.8% 93.2% 3.7%
Operating margin – – -16.0%
Pretax margin 33.7% 63.6% -16.0%
Net margin 38.5% 62.2% 12.1%
FCF margin -28.8% -61.8% -130.2%
Operating cash flow margin 57.5% 78.2% 24.1%
Return on equity 10.7% 8.2% 3.6%
Return on assets 5.7% 6.4% 2.4%
Return on invested capital – 8.4% -3.4%
Return on capital employed – – –
Asset turnover 0.1x 0.1x 0.2x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.5x 1.3x 1.9x
Stock comp / revenue 1.5% 2.0% 11.4%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricNHICTREWELL
Debt / assets 43.0% 8.4% 21.3%
Debt / equity 0.8x 0.1x 0.3x
Net debt / EBITDA 4.2x 0.8x 26.6x
Debt / FCF -10.3x -1.4x -0.9x
Liabilities / assets 46.7% 24.1% 32.7%
Equity / assets 53.3% 75.9% 67.3%
Interest coverage 3.5x 8.2x –
Current ratio – – –
Quick ratio – – –
Cash ratio – – –
Altman Z-score – – –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricNHICTREWELL
Dividend yield 5.6% 4.2% 1.4%
Net buyback yield -3.2% -14.0% -5.8%
Shareholder yield 2.4% -9.8% -4.4%
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.

ConsensusNHICTREWELL
Forward P/E 18.3xFY2026 22.3xFY2026 75.0xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $3.63FY2026 $1.62FY2026 $3.02FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +20.2%FY2026 +3.2%FY2026 +117.3%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after -17.1% +8.6% +14.2%
Revenue, next fiscal year $295.49MFY2026 $532.91MFY2026 $13.49BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +8.8%FY2026 +44.7%FY2026 +24.5%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after -0.4% +14.6% +16.4%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersNHICTREWELL
Held by institutions 78.7% 100.0% 98.3%
Institutions holding 303 514 1,585
Change in shares held, QoQ +11.1% +8.8% +5.6%
Institutions buying 157 282 879
Institutions selling 90 162 474
Buyers to sellers 1.74 1.74 1.85

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.

NHICTREWELL
NHI 1.00 0.70 0.65
CTRE 0.70 1.00 0.68
WELL 0.65 0.68 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, NHI, CTRE and WELL?

Welltower (WELL) is the largest by market capitalisation: National Health Investors (NHI) $3.21B, CareTrust REIT (CTRE) $8.53B, Welltower (WELL) $166.17B.

Which stock is cheaper, NHI, CTRE and WELL?

National Health Investors (NHI) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (National Health Investors (NHI) 19.3x, CareTrust REIT (CTRE) 23.8x, Welltower (WELL) 98.4x). On next year's consensus earnings, National Health Investors (NHI) is cheapest (National Health Investors (NHI) 18.3x, CareTrust REIT (CTRE) 22.3x, Welltower (WELL) 75.0x). 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%, CareTrust REIT (CTRE) +53.0%, Welltower (WELL) +39.2%.

Which company is more profitable?

CareTrust REIT (CTRE) has the highest net margin (National Health Investors (NHI) 38.5%, CareTrust REIT (CTRE) 62.2%, Welltower (WELL) 12.1%). On return on invested capital, CareTrust REIT (CTRE) leads (CareTrust REIT (CTRE) 8.4%, Welltower (WELL) -3.4%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Welltower (WELL) returned the most: National Health Investors (NHI) -12.4%, CareTrust REIT (CTRE) +1.1%, Welltower (WELL) +24.0%. Over five years, Welltower (WELL) compounded fastest (National Health Investors (NHI) +3.4%/yr, CareTrust REIT (CTRE) +10.9%/yr, Welltower (WELL) +22.3%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

National Health Investors (NHI) has the highest dividend yield: National Health Investors (NHI) 5.57%, CareTrust REIT (CTRE) 4.17%, Welltower (WELL) 1.36%.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Welltower (WELL) has been the steadiest (National Health Investors (NHI) 24.1%, CareTrust REIT (CTRE) 25.2%, Welltower (WELL) 23.5%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

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 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.