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ENSG vs UHS
Which Stock Would AI Choose? The Ensign Group (ENSG) vs. Universal Health Services (UHS) Stock Comparison
Key Takeaways
- The Ensign Group (ENSG) has delivered stronger one-year returns of approximately 53%, compared to Universal Health Services' (UHS) 1.4%, reflecting robust growth in post-acute care services.
- UHS leads year-to-date (YTD) performance at 19%, outperforming ENSG's 9%, driven by acute care hospital volumes amid sector recovery.
- Both stocks trade in the medical care facilities industry, but ENSG shows lower volatility with a beta of 0.82 versus UHS's 1.29.
- UHS offers better valuation with a trailing price-to-earnings (PE) ratio of 7.84, compared to ENSG's 32.37, appealing to value investors.
- Analyst target prices suggest upside: $220 for ENSG and $247 for UHS, indicating positive sentiment for both ahead of Q1 earnings.
Introduction
The Ensign Group (ENSG) and Universal Health Services (UHS) operate in the competitive medical care facilities sector, focusing on healthcare services amid aging demographics and post-pandemic recovery. This comparison highlights their recent market positioning, performance metrics, and growth drivers. Traders seeking momentum plays and investors eyeing long-term healthcare exposure may find value in evaluating relative strength, valuation trade-offs, and sector tailwinds like skilled nursing demand versus acute care utilization.
ENSG Overview and Recent Performance
The Ensign Group, Inc. (ENSG) provides post-acute healthcare services, including skilled nursing, senior living, and rehabilitation across over 300 facilities, primarily in the western U.S. In recent market activity, ENSG shares have traded around $189, with a market capitalization of $11 billion and a beta of 0.82 indicating lower volatility. The stock has benefited from Q4 2025 revenue growth of 20% to $1.4 billion, driven by acquisitions and organic expansion, boosting sentiment as a top growth pick. Recent weeks show steady gains amid analyst upgrades and anticipation for Q1 earnings on April 28, with YTD returns at 9% and one-year gains near 53%.
UHS Overview and Recent Performance
Universal Health Services, Inc. (UHS) operates acute care hospitals and behavioral health centers nationwide, serving over 400 facilities. Shares recently hovered near $176, with a $10.7 billion market cap and higher beta of 1.29 reflecting market sensitivity. Despite a Q4 2025 earnings miss due to softer volumes and costs, revenue rose 9%, supporting YTD gains of 19%. Recent dips stem from facility-specific issues like safety concerns at Cedar Hill, but upcoming Q1 earnings on April 27 and industry tailwinds in acute care have sustained analyst interest, with one-year returns at 1%.
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Head-to-Head Comparison
Both ENSG and UHS thrive in healthcare but differ in focus: ENSG emphasizes stable post-acute care with lower risk, while UHS leverages higher-volume acute and behavioral health for scale, generating $17 billion in revenue versus $5 billion. Growth drivers include ENSG's tuck-in acquisitions versus UHS's bed expansions. Recent momentum favors ENSG's 53% one-year return amid consistent beats, while UHS faces volume pressures but trades at a discount PE. Risk factors: ENSG's premium valuation versus UHS's regulatory scrutiny. Sector exposure aligns on demographics, but sentiment tilts toward ENSG for stability.
Tickeron AI Verdict
Tickeron’s AI currently leans toward ENSG for its trend consistency, lower beta, and superior one-year momentum in recent healthcare rotations, positioning it favorably ahead of earnings. UHS offers value appeal but trails on stability amid operational headwinds. Probabilistic edge favors ENSG in the near term.
Disclaimer
The information on this webpage is provided for general informational and educational purposes only and is not intended as investment advice, a recommendation to purchase or sell any security, or an offer or solicitation related to investments. It does not consider your personal financial situation, goals, or risk profile, and all investing carries inherent risks, including the possibility of losing your entire investment. For more details, please review our full disclaimer. Disclaimers and Limitations
To compare these two companies we present long-term analysis, their fundamental ratings and make comparative short-term technical analysis which are presented below. The conclusion is ENSG is a Hold and UHS is a Buy.
Long-Term Analysis
It is best to consider a long-term outlook for a ticker by using Fundamental Analysis (FA) ratings. The rating of 1 to 100, where 1 is best and 100 is worst, is divided into thirds. The first third (a green rating of 1-33) indicates that the ticker is undervalued; the second third (a grey number between 34 and 66) means that the ticker is valued fairly; and the last third (red number of 67 to 100) reflects that the ticker is undervalued. We use an FA Score to show how many ratings show the ticker to be undervalued (green) or overvalued (red).
ENSG’s FA Score shows that 0 FA rating(s) are green whileUHS’s FA Score has 1 green FA rating(s).
- ENSG’s FA Score: 0 green, 5 red.
- UHS’s FA Score: 1 green, 4 red.
Short-Term Analysis
It is best to consider a short-term outlook for a ticker by using Technical Analysis (TA) indicators. We use Odds of Success as the percentage of outcomes which confirm successful trade signals in the past.
If the Odds of Success (the likelihood of the continuation of a trend) for each indicator are greater than 50%, then the generated signal is confirmed. A green percentage from 90% to 51% indicates that the ticker is in a bullish trend. A red percentage from 90% - 51% indicates that the ticker is in a bearish trend. All grey percentages are below 50% and are considered not to confirm the trend signal.
ENSG’s TA Score shows that 5 TA indicator(s) are bullish while UHS’s TA Score has 5 bullish TA indicator(s).
- ENSG’s TA Score: 5 bullish, 4 bearish.
- UHS’s TA Score: 5 bullish, 3 bearish.
Price Growth
ENSG (@Hospital/Nursing Management) experienced а +4.03% price change this week, while UHS (@Hospital/Nursing Management) price change was -2.28% for the same time period.
The average weekly price growth across all stocks in the @Hospital/Nursing Management industry was -0.10%. For the same industry, the average monthly price growth was +4.78%, and the average quarterly price growth was +27.33%.
Reported Earning Dates
ENSG is expected to report earnings on Jul 23, 2026.
UHS is expected to report earnings on Jul 27, 2026.
Industries' Descriptions
@Hospital/Nursing Management (-0.10% weekly)Hospital/Nursing Management companies own and operate health care facilities. Their operations include nursing homes, acute care facilities, retirement centers and outpatient surgery centers. HCA Healthcare Inc., Alcon Inc. and Universal Health Services, Inc. are some major companies in this industry. Technology has been at the forefront of development of advanced solutions, including quicker diagnoses of complex conditions. Investments in new diagnostics, healthcare IoT, and other healthcare technologies continue to gather momentum in this industry.
| ENSG | UHS | ENSG / UHS | |
| Capitalization | 9.16B | 8.64B | 106% |
| EBITDA | 594M | 2.8B | 21% |
| Gain YTD | -9.971 | -34.421 | 29% |
| P/E Ratio | 25.53 | 5.96 | 429% |
| Revenue | 5.27B | 17.8B | 30% |
| Total Cash | 595M | N/A | - |
| Total Debt | 2.25B | 5.13B | 44% |
ENSG | UHS | ||
|---|---|---|---|
OUTLOOK RATING 1..100 | 4 | 2 | |
VALUATION overvalued / fair valued / undervalued 1..100 | 47 Fair valued | 11 Undervalued | |
PROFIT vs RISK RATING 1..100 | 44 | 100 | |
SMR RATING 1..100 | 52 | 44 | |
PRICE GROWTH RATING 1..100 | 75 | 65 | |
P/E GROWTH RATING 1..100 | 62 | 87 | |
SEASONALITY SCORE 1..100 | 50 | 50 |
Tickeron ratings are formulated such that a rating of 1 designates the most successful stocks in a given industry, while a rating of 100 points to the least successful stocks for that industry.
UHS's Valuation (11) in the Hospital Or Nursing Management industry is somewhat better than the same rating for ENSG (47) in the Medical Or Nursing Services industry. This means that UHS’s stock grew somewhat faster than ENSG’s over the last 12 months.
ENSG's Profit vs Risk Rating (44) in the Medical Or Nursing Services industry is somewhat better than the same rating for UHS (100) in the Hospital Or Nursing Management industry. This means that ENSG’s stock grew somewhat faster than UHS’s over the last 12 months.
UHS's SMR Rating (44) in the Hospital Or Nursing Management industry is in the same range as ENSG (52) in the Medical Or Nursing Services industry. This means that UHS’s stock grew similarly to ENSG’s over the last 12 months.
UHS's Price Growth Rating (65) in the Hospital Or Nursing Management industry is in the same range as ENSG (75) in the Medical Or Nursing Services industry. This means that UHS’s stock grew similarly to ENSG’s over the last 12 months.
ENSG's P/E Growth Rating (62) in the Medical Or Nursing Services industry is in the same range as UHS (87) in the Hospital Or Nursing Management industry. This means that ENSG’s stock grew similarly to UHS’s over the last 12 months.
| ENSG | UHS | |
|---|---|---|
| RSI ODDS (%) | 2 days ago 70% | 2 days ago 62% |
| Stochastic ODDS (%) | 2 days ago 62% | 2 days ago 62% |
| Momentum ODDS (%) | 2 days ago 63% | 2 days ago 70% |
| MACD ODDS (%) | 2 days ago 65% | 2 days ago 62% |
| TrendWeek ODDS (%) | 2 days ago 64% | 2 days ago 70% |
| TrendMonth ODDS (%) | 2 days ago 63% | 2 days ago 73% |
| Advances ODDS (%) | 8 days ago 66% | 12 days ago 70% |
| Declines ODDS (%) | 6 days ago 59% | 6 days ago 69% |
| BollingerBands ODDS (%) | 2 days ago 63% | 2 days ago 65% |
| Aroon ODDS (%) | 2 days ago 65% | 2 days ago 69% |
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ENSG and
Correlation & Price change
A.I.dvisor indicates that over the last year, ENSG has been loosely correlated with EHC. These tickers have moved in lockstep 41% of the time. This A.I.-generated data suggests there is some statistical probability that if ENSG jumps, then EHC could also see price increases.
| Ticker / NAME | Correlation To ENSG | 1D Price Change % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ENSG | 100% | +2.04% | ||
| EHC - ENSG | 41% Loosely correlated | +0.66% | ||
| UHS - ENSG | 39% Loosely correlated | +1.04% | ||
| NHC - ENSG | 36% Loosely correlated | -0.06% | ||
| PNTG - ENSG | 36% Loosely correlated | +0.36% | ||
| HCA - ENSG | 35% Loosely correlated | +0.49% | ||
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UHS and
Correlation & Price change
A.I.dvisor indicates that over the last year, UHS has been loosely correlated with HCA. These tickers have moved in lockstep 62% of the time. This A.I.-generated data suggests there is some statistical probability that if UHS jumps, then HCA could also see price increases.
| Ticker / NAME | Correlation To UHS | 1D Price Change % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UHS | 100% | +1.04% | ||
| HCA - UHS | 62% Loosely correlated | +0.49% | ||
| THC - UHS | 56% Loosely correlated | +3.58% | ||
| PNTG - UHS | 40% Loosely correlated | +0.36% | ||
| ENSG - UHS | 39% Loosely correlated | +2.04% | ||
| CON - UHS | 35% Loosely correlated | -0.25% | ||
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