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HCA Healthcare (HCA) Competitors

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$397.70 +7.73 (+1.98%)
As of 09:46 AM Eastern
This is a fair market value price provided by Massive. Learn more.

HCA vs. ACHC, ENSG, CNC, EHC, and ELV

Should you buy HCA Healthcare stock or one of its competitors? MarketBeat compares HCA Healthcare with other companies and stocks that may be similar based on industry, sector, market capitalization, business model, investor interest, or shared news coverage. Companies and stocks commonly compared with HCA Healthcare include Acadia Healthcare (ACHC), The Ensign Group (ENSG), Centene (CNC), Encompass Health (EHC), and Elevance Health (ELV). These companies are all part of the "medical" sector.

How does HCA Healthcare compare to Acadia Healthcare?

Acadia Healthcare (NASDAQ:ACHC) and HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) are both medical companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, valuation, dividends, media sentiment, risk, profitability, earnings and institutional ownership.

62.7% of HCA Healthcare shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.2% of Acadia Healthcare shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 1.5% of HCA Healthcare shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Acadia Healthcare currently has a consensus price target of $26.85, suggesting a potential upside of 6.09%. HCA Healthcare has a consensus price target of $506.14, suggesting a potential upside of 27.27%. Given HCA Healthcare's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe HCA Healthcare is more favorable than Acadia Healthcare.

Company Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score
Acadia Healthcare
2 Sell rating(s)
5 Hold rating(s)
7 Buy rating(s)
1 Strong Buy rating(s)
2.47
HCA Healthcare
1 Sell rating(s)
8 Hold rating(s)
15 Buy rating(s)
0 Strong Buy rating(s)
2.58

Acadia Healthcare has a beta of 0.69, meaning that its stock price is 31% less volatile than the broader market. Comparatively, HCA Healthcare has a beta of 1.12, meaning that its stock price is 12% more volatile than the broader market.

HCA Healthcare has a net margin of 8.89% compared to Acadia Healthcare's net margin of -32.84%. Acadia Healthcare's return on equity of 7.09% beat HCA Healthcare's return on equity.

Company Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets
Acadia Healthcare-32.84% 7.09% 3.01%
HCA Healthcare 8.89%-295.93%11.21%

HCA Healthcare has higher revenue and earnings than Acadia Healthcare. Acadia Healthcare is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than HCA Healthcare, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

CompanyGross RevenuePrice/Sales RatioNet IncomeEarnings Per SharePrice/Earnings Ratio
Acadia Healthcare$3.31B0.70-$1.10B-$12.24N/A
HCA Healthcare$75.60B1.17$6.78B$29.0813.68

In the previous week, HCA Healthcare had 13 more articles in the media than Acadia Healthcare. MarketBeat recorded 17 mentions for HCA Healthcare and 4 mentions for Acadia Healthcare. HCA Healthcare's average media sentiment score of 0.83 beat Acadia Healthcare's score of 0.22 indicating that HCA Healthcare is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company Very Positive Positive Neutral Negative Very Negative Overall Sentiment
Acadia Healthcare
0 Very Positive mention(s)
0 Positive mention(s)
2 Neutral mention(s)
1 Negative mention(s)
0 Very Negative mention(s)
Neutral
HCA Healthcare
10 Very Positive mention(s)
2 Positive mention(s)
2 Neutral mention(s)
2 Negative mention(s)
1 Very Negative mention(s)
Positive

Summary

HCA Healthcare beats Acadia Healthcare on 15 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

How does HCA Healthcare compare to The Ensign Group?

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) and The Ensign Group (NASDAQ:ENSG) are both medical companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, earnings, risk, media sentiment, profitability, dividends, analyst recommendations and valuation.

HCA Healthcare has a beta of 1.12, suggesting that its stock price is 12% more volatile than the broader market. Comparatively, The Ensign Group has a beta of 0.68, suggesting that its stock price is 32% less volatile than the broader market.

62.7% of HCA Healthcare shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 96.1% of The Ensign Group shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.5% of HCA Healthcare shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 4.0% of The Ensign Group shares are owned by company 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.

HCA Healthcare has higher revenue and earnings than The Ensign Group. HCA 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.

CompanyGross RevenuePrice/Sales RatioNet IncomeEarnings Per SharePrice/Earnings Ratio
HCA Healthcare$75.60B1.17$6.78B$29.0813.68
The Ensign Group$5.06B1.77$343.97M$6.1425.00

HCA Healthcare has a net margin of 8.89% compared to The Ensign Group's net margin of 6.89%. The Ensign Group's return on equity of 16.78% beat HCA Healthcare's return on equity.

Company Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets
HCA Healthcare8.89% -295.93% 11.21%
The Ensign Group 6.89%16.78%6.91%

HCA Healthcare pays an annual dividend of $3.12 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.8%. The Ensign Group pays an annual dividend of $0.26 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.2%. HCA Healthcare pays out 10.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. The Ensign Group pays out 4.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. HCA Healthcare has increased its dividend for 6 consecutive years and The Ensign Group has increased its dividend for 18 consecutive years.

HCA Healthcare presently has a consensus target price of $506.14, indicating a potential upside of 27.27%. The Ensign Group has a consensus target price of $216.75, indicating a potential upside of 41.18%. Given The Ensign Group's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe The Ensign Group is more favorable than HCA Healthcare.

Company Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score
HCA Healthcare
1 Sell rating(s)
8 Hold rating(s)
15 Buy rating(s)
0 Strong Buy rating(s)
2.58
The Ensign Group
0 Sell rating(s)
2 Hold rating(s)
4 Buy rating(s)
0 Strong Buy rating(s)
2.67

In the previous week, The Ensign Group had 19 more articles in the media than HCA Healthcare. MarketBeat recorded 36 mentions for The Ensign Group and 17 mentions for HCA Healthcare. HCA Healthcare's average media sentiment score of 0.83 beat The Ensign Group's score of 0.45 indicating that HCA Healthcare is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company Very Positive Positive Neutral Negative Very Negative Overall Sentiment
HCA Healthcare
10 Very Positive mention(s)
2 Positive mention(s)
2 Neutral mention(s)
2 Negative mention(s)
1 Very Negative mention(s)
Positive
The Ensign Group
12 Very Positive mention(s)
0 Positive mention(s)
20 Neutral mention(s)
0 Negative mention(s)
3 Very Negative mention(s)
Neutral

Summary

The Ensign Group beats HCA Healthcare on 10 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.

How does HCA Healthcare compare to Centene?

Centene (NYSE:CNC) and HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) are both large-cap medical companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, valuation, profitability, media sentiment, dividends, earnings, institutional ownership and risk.

HCA Healthcare has a net margin of 8.89% compared to Centene's net margin of -3.25%. Centene's return on equity of 5.57% beat HCA Healthcare's return on equity.

Company Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets
Centene-3.25% 5.57% 1.54%
HCA Healthcare 8.89%-295.93%11.21%

HCA Healthcare has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Centene. Centene is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than HCA Healthcare, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

CompanyGross RevenuePrice/Sales RatioNet IncomeEarnings Per SharePrice/Earnings Ratio
Centene$194.78B0.16-$6.67B-$13.14N/A
HCA Healthcare$75.60B1.17$6.78B$29.0813.68

Centene has a beta of 1.09, indicating that its stock price is 9% more volatile than the broader market. Comparatively, HCA Healthcare has a beta of 1.12, indicating that its stock price is 12% more volatile than the broader market.

Centene presently has a consensus price target of $60.24, suggesting a potential downside of 3.21%. HCA Healthcare has a consensus price target of $506.14, suggesting a potential upside of 27.27%. Given HCA Healthcare's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe HCA Healthcare is more favorable than Centene.

Company Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score
Centene
2 Sell rating(s)
9 Hold rating(s)
7 Buy rating(s)
1 Strong Buy rating(s)
2.37
HCA Healthcare
1 Sell rating(s)
8 Hold rating(s)
15 Buy rating(s)
0 Strong Buy rating(s)
2.58

In the previous week, Centene and Centene both had 17 articles in the media. HCA Healthcare's average media sentiment score of 0.83 beat Centene's score of 0.17 indicating that HCA Healthcare is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company Very Positive Positive Neutral Negative Very Negative Overall Sentiment
Centene
2 Very Positive mention(s)
1 Positive mention(s)
10 Neutral mention(s)
3 Negative mention(s)
1 Very Negative mention(s)
Neutral
HCA Healthcare
10 Very Positive mention(s)
2 Positive mention(s)
2 Neutral mention(s)
2 Negative mention(s)
1 Very Negative mention(s)
Positive

93.6% of Centene shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 62.7% of HCA Healthcare shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.4% of Centene shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 1.5% of HCA Healthcare shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

HCA Healthcare beats Centene on 12 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

How does HCA Healthcare compare to Encompass Health?

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) and Encompass Health (NYSE:EHC) are both medical companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, institutional ownership, media sentiment, risk, analyst recommendations, dividends, valuation and profitability.

HCA Healthcare presently has a consensus price target of $506.14, indicating a potential upside of 27.27%. Encompass Health has a consensus price target of $143.86, indicating a potential upside of 43.03%. Given Encompass Health's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Encompass Health is more favorable than HCA Healthcare.

Company Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score
HCA Healthcare
1 Sell rating(s)
8 Hold rating(s)
15 Buy rating(s)
0 Strong Buy rating(s)
2.58
Encompass Health
0 Sell rating(s)
1 Hold rating(s)
7 Buy rating(s)
1 Strong Buy rating(s)
3.00

HCA Healthcare has a beta of 1.12, indicating that its stock price is 12% more volatile than the broader market. Comparatively, Encompass Health has a beta of 0.72, indicating that its stock price is 28% less volatile than the broader market.

62.7% of HCA Healthcare shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 97.3% of Encompass Health shares are held by institutional investors. 1.5% of HCA Healthcare shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.8% of Encompass Health shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

HCA Healthcare pays an annual dividend of $3.12 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.8%. Encompass Health pays an annual dividend of $0.76 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.8%. HCA Healthcare pays out 10.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Encompass Health pays out 12.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. HCA Healthcare has raised its dividend for 6 consecutive years and Encompass Health has raised its dividend for 2 consecutive years. HCA Healthcare is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Encompass Health has a net margin of 10.04% compared to HCA Healthcare's net margin of 8.89%. Encompass Health's return on equity of 18.28% beat HCA Healthcare's return on equity.

Company Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets
HCA Healthcare8.89% -295.93% 11.21%
Encompass Health 10.04%18.28%8.27%

HCA Healthcare has higher revenue and earnings than Encompass Health. HCA Healthcare is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Encompass Health, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

CompanyGross RevenuePrice/Sales RatioNet IncomeEarnings Per SharePrice/Earnings Ratio
HCA Healthcare$75.60B1.17$6.78B$29.0813.68
Encompass Health$5.94B1.68$566.20M$5.9916.79

In the previous week, HCA Healthcare had 4 more articles in the media than Encompass Health. MarketBeat recorded 17 mentions for HCA Healthcare and 13 mentions for Encompass Health. Encompass Health's average media sentiment score of 1.42 beat HCA Healthcare's score of 0.83 indicating that Encompass Health is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company Very Positive Positive Neutral Negative Very Negative Overall Sentiment
HCA Healthcare
10 Very Positive mention(s)
2 Positive mention(s)
2 Neutral mention(s)
2 Negative mention(s)
1 Very Negative mention(s)
Positive
Encompass Health
12 Very Positive mention(s)
0 Positive mention(s)
1 Neutral mention(s)
0 Negative mention(s)
0 Very Negative mention(s)
Positive

Summary

HCA Healthcare and Encompass Health tied by winning 10 of the 20 factors compared between the two stocks.

How does HCA Healthcare compare to Elevance Health?

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) and HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) are both large-cap medical companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, media sentiment, earnings, dividends, risk, institutional ownership, profitability and valuation.

Elevance Health presently has a consensus price target of $416.11, indicating a potential upside of 4.79%. HCA Healthcare has a consensus price target of $506.14, indicating a potential upside of 27.27%. Given HCA Healthcare's higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe HCA Healthcare is more favorable than Elevance Health.

Company Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score
Elevance Health
0 Sell rating(s)
9 Hold rating(s)
14 Buy rating(s)
0 Strong Buy rating(s)
2.61
HCA Healthcare
1 Sell rating(s)
8 Hold rating(s)
15 Buy rating(s)
0 Strong Buy rating(s)
2.58

89.2% of Elevance Health shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 62.7% of HCA Healthcare shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.3% of Elevance Health shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.5% of HCA Healthcare shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Elevance Health has a beta of 0.67, indicating that its stock price is 33% less volatile than the broader market. Comparatively, HCA Healthcare has a beta of 1.12, indicating that its stock price is 12% more volatile than the broader market.

Elevance Health pays an annual dividend of $6.88 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.7%. HCA Healthcare pays an annual dividend of $3.12 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.8%. Elevance Health pays out 29.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. HCA Healthcare pays out 10.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Elevance Health has increased its dividend for 14 consecutive years and HCA Healthcare has increased its dividend for 6 consecutive years. Elevance Health is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

HCA Healthcare has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Elevance Health. HCA Healthcare is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Elevance Health, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

CompanyGross RevenuePrice/Sales RatioNet IncomeEarnings Per SharePrice/Earnings Ratio
Elevance Health$199.13B0.43$5.66B$23.5116.89
HCA Healthcare$75.60B1.17$6.78B$29.0813.68

HCA Healthcare has a net margin of 8.89% compared to Elevance Health's net margin of 2.62%. Elevance Health's return on equity of 15.58% beat HCA Healthcare's return on equity.

Company Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets
Elevance Health2.62% 15.58% 5.57%
HCA Healthcare 8.89%-295.93%11.21%

In the previous week, Elevance Health had 7 more articles in the media than HCA Healthcare. MarketBeat recorded 24 mentions for Elevance Health and 17 mentions for HCA Healthcare. Elevance Health's average media sentiment score of 1.35 beat HCA Healthcare's score of 0.83 indicating that Elevance Health is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company Very Positive Positive Neutral Negative Very Negative Overall Sentiment
Elevance Health
21 Very Positive mention(s)
0 Positive mention(s)
1 Neutral mention(s)
0 Negative mention(s)
0 Very Negative mention(s)
Positive
HCA Healthcare
10 Very Positive mention(s)
2 Positive mention(s)
2 Neutral mention(s)
2 Negative mention(s)
1 Very Negative mention(s)
Positive

Summary

HCA Healthcare beats Elevance Health on 10 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.

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New MarketBeat Followers Over Time

This chart shows the number of new MarketBeat users adding HCA and its top 5 competitors to their watchlist. Each company is represented with a line over a 90 day period.
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Media Sentiment Over Time

This chart shows the average media sentiment of NYSE and its competitors over the past 90 days as caculated by MarketBeat. The averaged score is equivalent to the following: Very Negative Sentiment <= -1.5, Negative Sentiment > -1.5 and <= -0.5, Neutral Sentiment > -0.5 and < 0.5, Positive Sentiment >= 0.5 and < 1.5, and Very Positive Sentiment >= 1.5.
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HCA vs. The Competition

MetricHCA HealthcareMED IndustryMedical SectorNYSE Exchange
Market Cap$87.96B$19.13B$6.74B$23.32B
Dividend Yield0.81%0.57%2.67%4.05%
P/E Ratio13.6312.8723.9031.59
Price / Sales1.170.94514.2520.84
Price / Cash8.566.9627.4818.65
Price / Book-32.761.8810.414.70
Net Income$6.78B$1.53B$3.56B$1.08B
7 Day Performance6.33%2.00%0.68%1.28%
1 Month Performance-5.91%-3.78%1.91%3.33%
1 Year Performance7.85%-3.01%24.91%23.15%

HCA Healthcare Competitors List

CompanyMarketRankShare PriceAnalysts' Price Target1Y Price PerformanceMarket CapRevenueP/E RatioEmployee CountIndicator(s)
HCA
HCA Healthcare
4.765 of 5 stars
$397.70
+2.0%
$506.14
+27.3%
+5.2%$87.96B$75.60B13.63320,000
ACHC
Acadia Healthcare
1.4907 of 5 stars
$25.32
+3.4%
$26.85
+6.0%
+17.7%$2.33B$3.37BN/A25,000
ENSG
The Ensign Group
4.6095 of 5 stars
$156.42
-8.2%
$216.75
+38.6%
-0.4%$9.14B$5.06B25.4846,000
CNC
Centene
3.3289 of 5 stars
$65.11
+4.5%
$60.24
-7.5%
+14.8%$32.15B$194.78BN/A61,100
EHC
Encompass Health
4.7946 of 5 stars
$101.18
-2.7%
$143.86
+42.2%
-17.9%$10.04B$6.07B16.8942,000

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This page (NYSE:HCA) was last updated on 6/16/2026 by MarketBeat.com Staff.
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