The Ensign Group (NASDAQ:ENSG) and Acadia Healthcare (NASDAQ:ACHC) are both mid-cap medical companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, valuation, analyst recommendations, risk, institutional ownership, earnings and profitability.
Earnings and Valuation
This table compares The Ensign Group and Acadia Healthcare's top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio |
---|
The Ensign Group | $2.04 billion | 2.24 | $110.53 million | $2.09 | 39.97 |
Acadia Healthcare | $3.11 billion | 1.56 | $108.92 million | $2.04 | 26.66 |
The Ensign Group has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Acadia Healthcare. Acadia Healthcare is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than The Ensign Group, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Analyst Ratings
This is a breakdown of current ratings and recommmendations for The Ensign Group and Acadia Healthcare, as reported by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score |
---|
The Ensign Group | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2.75 |
Acadia Healthcare | 0 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2.50 |
The Ensign Group presently has a consensus price target of $63.80, suggesting a potential downside of 23.62%. Acadia Healthcare has a consensus price target of $48.2222, suggesting a potential downside of 10.22%. Given Acadia Healthcare's higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Acadia Healthcare is more favorable than The Ensign Group.
Volatility and Risk
The Ensign Group has a beta of 1.05, indicating that its share price is 5% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Acadia Healthcare has a beta of 1.49, indicating that its share price is 49% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Profitability
This table compares The Ensign Group and Acadia Healthcare's net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets |
---|
The Ensign Group | 6.49% | 21.65% | 6.28% |
Acadia Healthcare | 3.19% | 7.55% | 2.76% |
Insider and Institutional Ownership
78.6% of The Ensign Group shares are owned by institutional investors. 6.8% of The Ensign Group shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 1.6% of Acadia Healthcare shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.
Summary
The Ensign Group beats Acadia Healthcare on 9 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.