Ardent Health (NYSE:ARDT – Get Free Report) and Option Care Health (NASDAQ:OPCH – Get Free Report) are both healthcare companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, analyst recommendations, risk, earnings, profitability, institutional ownership and valuation.
Risk & Volatility
Ardent Health has a beta of 0.72, suggesting that its share price is 28% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Option Care Health has a beta of 0.58, suggesting that its share price is 42% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Analyst Ratings
This is a summary of recent recommendations for Ardent Health and Option Care Health, as reported by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Ardent Health | 2 | 6 | 7 | 0 | 2.33 |
| Option Care Health | 0 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 2.50 |
Profitability
This table compares Ardent Health and Option Care Health’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Ardent Health | 1.22% | 10.35% | 3.36% |
| Option Care Health | 3.68% | 18.74% | 7.25% |
Insider & Institutional Ownership
98.0% of Option Care Health shares are held by institutional investors. 1.9% of Ardent Health shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 1.7% of Option Care Health shares are held 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.
Valuation and Earnings
This table compares Ardent Health and Option Care Health”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Ardent Health | $6.32 billion | 0.23 | $135.81 million | $0.55 | 18.83 |
| Option Care Health | $5.65 billion | 0.60 | $207.59 million | $1.33 | 17.02 |
Option Care Health has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Ardent Health. Option Care Health is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Ardent Health, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Summary
Option Care Health beats Ardent Health on 9 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Ardent Health
Ardent Health Partners, Inc. owns and operates a network of hospitals and clinics that provides a range of healthcare services in the United States. It operates acute care hospitals, including rehabilitation hospitals and surgical hospitals. The company was founded in 2001 and is based in Brentwood, Tennessee. Ardent Health Partners, Inc. is a subsidiary of EGI-AM Investments, L.L.C.
About Option Care Health
Option Care Health, Inc. offers home and alternate site infusion services in the United States. The company provides anti-infective therapies; home infusion services to treat heart failures; home parenteral nutrition and enteral nutrition support services for numerous acute and chronic conditions, such as stroke, cancer, and gastrointestinal diseases; immunoglobulin infusion therapies for the treatment of immune deficiencies; and treatments for chronic inflammatory disorders, including crohn’s disease, plaque psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, ulcerative colitis, and other chronic inflammatory disorders. It also offers treatments to manage the progression of neurological disorders, such as multiple sclerosis, duchenne muscular dystrophy, and other neurological disorder; infusion therapies for bleeding disorders, such as hemophilia and von Willebrand diseases; therapies for women with high-risk pregnancies; and other infusion therapies to treat various conditions, including pain management, chemotherapy, and respiratory medications, as well as nursing services. The company markets its services through patient referrals, including physicians, hospital discharge planners, hospital personnel, health maintenance organizations, and preferred provider organizations. Option Care Health, Inc. is headquartered in Bannockburn, Illinois.
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