NHI vs WELL vs HR Stock Comparison

National Health Investors, Welltower and Healthcare Realty Trust Prices as of Oct 23, 2026 Peers: Industry group
WELL Welltower Inc.
$237.40 +3.3% 1M +34.8% 1Y
Market cap
$170.43B
P/E
109.9x
Revenue (TTM)
$12.76B
Div. yield
–
Healthcare REITs Real Estate
5 wins

Head to Head

10 decided of 12

Welltower leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (Welltower 5, National Health Investors 4, Healthcare Realty Trust 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionNHIWELLHRLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $3.26B $170.43B $6.14B WELL
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 19.6x 109.9x -70.7x NHI
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 18.5x 78.3x — NHI
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +23.9% +37.6% -6.3% WELL
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 38.5% 12.1% -7.6% NHI
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — -12.6% — –
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 4.2x -2.2x — WELL
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.05% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -11.0% +34.8% -4.1% WELL
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +3.6%/yr +24.0%/yr -11.4%/yr WELL
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 24.0% 22.8% 19.9% HR
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 57/100 38/100 43/100 NHI

Percentile Scorecard

NHIWELLHR

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

AxisNHIWELLHR
Valuation 40 #87 of 145 0 #145 of 145 40 #88 of 145
Growth 63 #54 of 144 78 #33 of 144 54 #67 of 144
Profitability 83 #25 of 140 18 #115 of 140 34 #93 of 140
Financial Health 73 #40 of 146 97 #6 of 146 49 #75 of 146
Shareholder Returns 24 #101 of 132 0 #132 of 132 41 #79 of 132
Overall 57 38 43
  • NHI ranked among 149 companies in Property REITs
  • WELL ranked among 149 companies in Property REITs
  • HR ranked among 149 companies in Property REITs

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodNHIWELLHRSPY
1 month -0.3%+3.3%-0.3% -1.0%
3 months -16.7%-5.9%-16.3% +2.9%
6 months -12.9%+13.7%-4.2% +6.4%
Year to date -12.2%+27.9%+5.7% +11.4%
1 year -11.0%+34.8%-4.1% +13.1%
3 years +32.4%+181.6%+23.0% +79.4%
3 years, per year +9.8%+41.3%+7.1% +21.5%
5 years +19.4%+192.9%-45.4% +67.7%
5 years, per year +3.6%+24.0%-11.4% +10.9%
10 years -14.0%+236.7%-45.1% +255.2%
10 years, per year -1.5%+12.9%-5.8% +13.5%

Risk

MeasureNHIWELLHRSPY
Volatility, 1Y 24.0%22.8%19.9% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 26.0%23.8%19.9% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y -0.36-0.050.10 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.461.53-0.20 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -29.7%-41.6%-61.6% -25.4%
From 52-week high -26.3%-5.9%-18.1% -2.5%
52-week high $91.02$252.22$21.89 $779.14
52-week low $63.97$176.06$16.34 $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.

MultipleNHIWELLHR
P/E now vs peer median 19.5xmedian 27.0x 108.7xmedian 27.0x -70.6xmedian 27.0x
P/S now vs peer median 7.5xmedian 4.1x 13.4xmedian 4.1x 5.4xmedian 4.1x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 15.3xmedian 14.5x -33.3xmedian 14.5x —median 14.5x
P/FCF now vs peer median -26.1xmedian 23.7x -10.9xmedian 23.7x 49.7xmedian 23.7x
P/B now vs peer median 2.1xmedian 1.3x 3.6xmedian 1.3x 1.4xmedian 1.3x
PEG now vs peer median 1.87median 2.07 1.01median 2.07 -3.83median 2.07

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 monthsNHIWELLHR
Revenue $432.12M $12.76B $1.14B
Gross profit – $5.05B –
Operating income – -$8.03B –
Net income $166.80M $1.62B -$87.96M
Free cash flow -$124.29M -$15.64B $123.68M
EPS (diluted) $3.43 $2.10 $-0.25
Cash & equivalents $30.39M $1.97B $18.99M
Total debt $1.27B $65.46B $4.17B
Shares (diluted) 48.50M 737.96M 342.30M
Enterprise value $3.11B $151.92B $6.03B

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
MetricNHIWELLHR
P/E 19.5x 108.7x -70.6x
P/FCF -26.1x -10.9x 49.7x
P/Operating cash flow 13.0x 53.7x 13.9x
P/S 7.5x 13.4x 5.4x
P/B 2.1x 3.6x 1.4x
P/Tangible book 2.1x 3.6x 1.4x
EV/EBITDA 15.3x -33.3x –
EV/EBIT 21.9x -22.8x –
EV/Revenue 10.4x 14.4x 9.0x
EV/FCF -36.1x -11.7x 83.2x
EV/Operating cash flow 18.0x 57.6x 23.3x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 1.87 1.01 -3.83

Growth

14 metrics
MetricNHIWELLHR
Revenue growth (1Y) 23.9% 37.6% -6.3%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 12.0% 27.1% -4.5%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – 37.2% –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – 27.2% –
Operating income growth (1Y) – -66.9% –
Operating income CAGR (3Y) – -31.1% –
Net income growth (1Y) 16.7% 41.4% 78.5%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 14.7% 129.2% 21.1%
EPS growth (1Y) 12.6% 24.3% 77.9%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 10.4% 107.4% 18.4%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 17.0% 21.9% -5.8%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 13.2% 31.5% 2.2%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -165.9% -220.4% -8.9%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -43.5% -138.2% 314.6%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricNHIWELLHR
Gross margin – 39.5% –
EBITDA margin 67.8% -43.2% –
Operating margin – -62.9% –
Pretax margin 33.7% -17.6% –
Net margin 38.5% 12.1% -7.6%
FCF margin -28.8% -122.6% 10.8%
Operating cash flow margin 57.5% 25.0% 38.5%
Return on equity 10.7% 3.5% -2.0%
Return on assets 5.7% 2.4% -1.0%
Return on invested capital – -12.6% –
Return on capital employed – – –
Asset turnover 0.1x 0.2x 0.1x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.5x 2.0x -5.0x
Stock comp / revenue 1.5% 12.2% 1.8%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricNHIWELLHR
Debt / assets 43.0% 20.5% 46.3%
Debt / equity 0.8x 0.3x 1.0x
Net debt / EBITDA 4.2x -2.2x –
Debt / FCF -10.3x -0.9x 33.7x
Liabilities / assets 46.7% 32.1% 52.6%
Equity / assets 53.3% 67.9% 47.4%
Interest coverage 3.5x – –
Current ratio – – –
Quick ratio – – –
Cash ratio – – –
Altman Z-score – – –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricNHIWELLHR
Dividend yield 5.5% 1.3% 5.4%
Net buyback yield -3.2% -5.5% 2.9%
Shareholder yield 2.3% -4.2% 8.3%
Payout ratio (earnings) – – -381.2%
Payout ratio (FCF) – – 271.1%
Dividend growth (1Y) – – -23.8%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – – -7.7%

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.

ConsensusNHIWELLHR
Forward P/E 18.5xFY2026 78.3xFY2026 –
EPS, next fiscal year $3.63FY2026 $3.03FY2026 $-0.10FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +20.2%FY2026 +118.0%FY2026 –
EPS growth, the year after -16.8% +14.2% –
Revenue, next fiscal year $295.49MFY2026 $13.51BFY2026 $1.17BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +8.8%FY2026 +24.6%FY2026 -0.7%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after -0.4% +16.6% -8.1%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersNHIWELLHR
Held by institutions 78.7% 98.3% 100.0%
Institutions holding 303 1,584 458
Change in shares held, QoQ +11.1% +5.6% +0.8%
Institutions buying 157 879 225
Institutions selling 90 473 145
Buyers to sellers 1.74 1.86 1.55

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.

NHIWELLHR
NHI 1.00 0.66 0.46
WELL 0.66 1.00 0.52
HR 0.46 0.52 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, NHI, WELL and HR?

Welltower (WELL) is the largest by market capitalisation: National Health Investors (NHI) $3.26B, Welltower (WELL) $170.43B, Healthcare Realty Trust (HR) $6.14B.

Which stock is cheaper, NHI, WELL and HR?

National Health Investors (NHI) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (National Health Investors (NHI) 19.6x, Welltower (WELL) 109.9x, Healthcare Realty Trust (HR) -70.7x). On next year's consensus earnings, National Health Investors (NHI) is cheapest (National Health Investors (NHI) 18.5x, Welltower (WELL) 78.3x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Welltower (WELL) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: National Health Investors (NHI) +23.9%, Welltower (WELL) +37.6%, Healthcare Realty Trust (HR) -6.3%.

Which company is more profitable?

National Health Investors (NHI) has the highest net margin (National Health Investors (NHI) 38.5%, Welltower (WELL) 12.1%, Healthcare Realty Trust (HR) -7.6%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Welltower (WELL) returned the most: National Health Investors (NHI) -11.0%, Welltower (WELL) +34.8%, Healthcare Realty Trust (HR) -4.1%. Over five years, Welltower (WELL) compounded fastest (National Health Investors (NHI) +3.6%/yr, Welltower (WELL) +24.0%/yr, Healthcare Realty Trust (HR) -11.4%/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%, Welltower (WELL) 0.00%, Healthcare Realty Trust (HR) 0.05%. National Health Investors (NHI) and Welltower (WELL) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Healthcare Realty Trust (HR) has been the steadiest (National Health Investors (NHI) 24.0%, Welltower (WELL) 22.8%, Healthcare Realty Trust (HR) 19.9%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

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