Contrasting Sotera Health (NASDAQ:SHC) and Pediatrix Medical Group (NYSE:MD)

Pediatrix Medical Group (NYSE:MD) and Sotera Health (NASDAQ:SHC) are both medical companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, risk, profitability, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, earnings and valuation.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and recommmendations for Pediatrix Medical Group and Sotera Health, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Pediatrix Medical Group	0	5	1	0	2.17
Sotera Health	0	3	8	0	2.73

Pediatrix Medical Group presently has a consensus price target of $22.50, suggesting a potential downside of 3.00%. Sotera Health has a consensus price target of $20.29, suggesting a potential upside of 24.60%. Given Sotera Health’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Sotera Health is more favorable than Pediatrix Medical Group.

Risk & Volatility

Pediatrix Medical Group has a beta of 0.69, suggesting that its share price is 31% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Sotera Health has a beta of 1.79, suggesting that its share price is 79% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Pediatrix Medical Group and Sotera Health”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Pediatrix Medical Group	$1.93 billion	0.99	$165.39 million	$2.06	11.26
Sotera Health	$1.16 billion	3.99	$77.94 million	$0.41	39.71

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

Profitability

This table compares Pediatrix Medical Group and Sotera Health’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Pediatrix Medical Group	9.02%	19.94%	8.02%
Sotera Health	9.91%	39.73%	7.05%

Institutional and Insider Ownership

97.7% of Pediatrix Medical Group shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 91.0% of Sotera Health shares are held by institutional investors. 1.8% of Pediatrix Medical Group shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 15.4% of Sotera Health shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Sotera Health beats Pediatrix Medical Group on 9 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Pediatrix Medical Group

Pediatrix Medical Group, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides newborn, maternal-fetal, pediatric cardiology, and other pediatric subspecialty care services in the United States. It offers neonatal care services, such as clinical care to babies born prematurely or with complications within specific units at hospitals through neonatal physician subspecialists, neonatal nurse practitioners, and other pediatric clinicians. The company also provides maternal-fetal care services, including inpatient and office-based clinical care to expectant mothers and unborn babies through affiliated maternal-fetal medicine subspecialists, as well as obstetricians and other clinicians, including maternal-fetal nurse practitioners, certified nurse mid-wives, sonographers, and genetic counselors. In addition, it offers pediatric cardiology care services comprising inpatient and office-based pediatric cardiology care of the fetus, infant, child, and adolescent patient with congenital heart defects and acquired heart disease, as well as adults with congenital heart defects through affiliated pediatric cardiologist subspecialists and other related clinical professionals, including pediatric nurse practitioners, echocardiographers, other diagnostic technicians, and exercise physiologists; and specialized cardiac care to the fetus, neonatal and pediatric patients. Further, the company provides other pediatric subspecialty care services, such as pediatric intensivists, pediatric hospitalists, pediatric surgeons, and pediatric ophthalmologists, as well as pediatric ear, nose, and throat physicians, pediatric gastroenterologists; and support services in the areas of hospitals, primarily in the pediatric emergency rooms, labor and delivery areas, and nursery and pediatric departments. The company was formerly known as MEDNAX, Inc. and changed its name to Pediatrix Medical Group, Inc. in July 2022. Pediatrix Medical Group, Inc. was founded in 1979 and is based in Sunrise, Florida.

About Sotera Health

Sotera Health Company engages in the provision of sterilization, lab testing, and advisory services in the United States and internationally. The company operates through three segments: Sterigenics, Nordion, and Nelson Labs. It provides mission-critical end-to-end sterilization services, including gamma and electron beam irradiation, and ethylene oxide processing, as well as designs, installs, and maintains gamma irradiation systems. The company also provides microbiological and analytical chemistry testing, as well as technical assistance, regulatory consulting, and advisory services. It serves medical devices, pharmaceuticals, food safety, agricultural products, cancer treatment, and high-performance materials industries, as well as commercial, advanced, and specialty application industries. The company was formerly known as Sotera Health Topco, Inc. and changed its name to Sotera Health Company in October 2020. Sotera Health Company was incorporated in 2015 and is headquartered in Broadview Heights, Ohio.