Acadia Healthcare (NASDAQ:ACHC) Releases Q1 2026 Earnings Guidance

Acadia Healthcare (NASDAQ:ACHC) updated its first quarter 2026 earnings guidance on Wednesday. The company provided EPS guidance of 0.250-0.300 for the period, compared to the consensus EPS estimate of 0.110. The company issued revenue guidance of $820.0 million-$830.0 million, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $799.5 million. Acadia Healthcare also updated its FY 2026 guidance to 1.300-1.550 EPS.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on ACHC. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Acadia Healthcare from $17.00 to $14.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 4th. Mizuho cut their price objective on Acadia Healthcare from $22.00 to $17.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Cantor Fitzgerald set a $17.00 target price on Acadia Healthcare in a report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $25.00 price target on shares of Acadia Healthcare in a report on Thursday. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Acadia Healthcare in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $20.69.

Acadia Healthcare Trading Up 2.3%

NASDAQ:ACHC traded up $0.51 on Friday, hitting $22.80. 1,122,119 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,949,844. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a current ratio of 1.55. Acadia Healthcare has a 52 week low of $11.43 and a 52 week high of $33.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.87, a P/E/G ratio of 7.04 and a beta of 0.89. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $14.64 and its 200 day moving average price is $18.54.

Acadia Healthcare (NASDAQ:ACHC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported $0.07 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.03 by $0.04. Acadia Healthcare had a negative net margin of 33.29% and a positive return on equity of 6.53%. The business had revenue of $821.46 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $800.10 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.64 earnings per share. Acadia Healthcare’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Acadia Healthcare has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.300-1.550 EPS and its Q1 2026 guidance at 0.250-0.300 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Acadia Healthcare will post 3.38 earnings per share for the current year.

More Acadia Healthcare News

Here are the key news stories impacting Acadia Healthcare this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 revenue and admissions topped estimates; company reported $0.07 EPS (beat) and revenue growth ~6% with rising patient days, and it issued Q1 FY26 and FY26 guidance above street expectations — the core operational beat and upbeat guidance are the main catalysts for the rally. Acadia Healthcare’s (NASDAQ:ACHC) Q4 CY2025 Sales Top Estimates, Stock Jumps 10.8%
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple brokers raised price targets and reiterated Buy/Outperform ratings (RBC to $28, UBS to $27, TD Cowen to $24) following results and guidance — analyst support is adding upside conviction. Acadia Healthcare Co Stock: A Deep Dive Into Analyst Perspectives (17 Ratings)
• Positive Sentiment: Market commentary highlights returning management and execution focus (cost discipline, EBITDA improvement) as credible catalysts for a turnaround — that narrative is supporting investor appetite. Acadia Healthcare: Buy Rating on Improving Execution, Embedded EBITDA Growth, and Discipline Under Returning CEO
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst coverage is active — a Benzinga roundup shows 17 ratings and varied perspectives; this increases liquidity of opinions but doesn’t change fundamentals by itself. Acadia Healthcare Co Stock: A Deep Dive Into Analyst Perspectives (17 Ratings)
• Negative Sentiment: Reported EPS fell sharply year‑over‑year (profit plunge cited ~89% YoY), reflecting charges and lower margins — while revenue rose, profitability weakness is a risk to earnings durability. Acadia Healthcare Q4 Earnings Beat Estimates on Rising Admissions
• Negative Sentiment: Short interest is large — about 32.45M shares (~35.9% of float) with a ~7.3 day short-interest ratio, which raises both downside pressure from bearish positioning and the risk of sharp moves on squeezes or news. (Data compiled from recent filings.)

Institutional Trading of Acadia Healthcare

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in Acadia Healthcare by 24.9% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 11,774,308 shares of the company’s stock valued at $167,077,000 after buying an additional 2,350,760 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in Acadia Healthcare by 417.8% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,728,613 shares of the company’s stock valued at $67,099,000 after buying an additional 3,815,471 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG lifted its position in Acadia Healthcare by 8.8% during the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 4,336,698 shares of the company’s stock worth $107,377,000 after buying an additional 350,484 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Acadia Healthcare by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,293,951 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,741,000 after buying an additional 104,715 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Acadia Healthcare by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,633,192 shares of the company’s stock valued at $23,181,000 after acquiring an additional 7,453 shares in the last quarter.

Acadia Healthcare Company Profile

Acadia Healthcare Company, Inc (NASDAQ: ACHC) is a publicly traded provider of behavioral healthcare services headquartered in Franklin, Tennessee. Founded in 2005, the company has grown through organic expansion and strategic acquisitions to establish itself as a leading specialist in mental health and addiction treatment across the United States.

Acadia operates a diversified network of inpatient psychiatric hospitals, residential treatment centers, outpatient clinics and intensive outpatient programs.