Head to Head Analysis: Life Healthcare Group (OTCMKTS:LTGHY) vs. Amedisys (NASDAQ:AMED)

Life Healthcare Group (OTCMKTS:LTGHY) and Amedisys (NASDAQ:AMED) are both medical companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, valuation, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, earnings, profitability and dividends.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Life Healthcare Group and Amedisys’ gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Life Healthcare Group	N/A	N/A	N/A	$10.67	0.42
Amedisys	$2.23 billion	1.37	$118.61 million	$0.07	1,340.71

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

Profitability

This table compares Life Healthcare Group and Amedisys’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Life Healthcare Group	N/A	N/A	N/A
Amedisys	0.10%	14.00%	7.76%

Institutional & Insider Ownership

95.7% of Amedisys shares are held by institutional investors. 1.8% of Amedisys shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and price targets for Life Healthcare Group and Amedisys, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Life Healthcare Group	0	0	0	0	N/A
Amedisys	0	10	3	0	2.23

Amedisys has a consensus target price of $109.60, suggesting a potential upside of 16.78%. Given Amedisys’ higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Amedisys is more favorable than Life Healthcare Group.

Summary

Amedisys beats Life Healthcare Group on 9 of the 10 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Life Healthcare Group

Life Healthcare Group Holdings Limited, together with its subsidiaries, operates private hospitals in South Africa, Canada, the United Kingdom, rest of Europe, and Internationally. It operates through two segments, Hospitals and Complementary Services; and Healthcare Services. The company provides range of acute hospitals and complementary services; Life Esidimeni services, such as chronic mental healthcare, frail care rehabilitation, step-down care, correctional services, and primary healthcare and substance abuse recovery programs; and life employee health solutions, including on-site occupational and primary healthcare services and employee wellness programs. It also offers services in the areas of diagnostics, mental health, acute rehabilitation, renal dialysis, oncology, cardiology, neurology, orthopedic, pediatric, dermatology, ophthalmology, gynecology, and obstetric. In addition, the company provides diagnostic imaging services; magnetic resonance imaging and computerized tomography scanners; develops, manufactures, and distributes radiopharmaceuticals for use in positron emission tomography-computerized tomography (PET-CT) diagnostics. The company was formerly known as Afrox Healthcare Limited and changed its name to Life Healthcare Group Holdings Limited in January 2005. Life Healthcare Group Holdings Limited was founded in 1983 and is headquartered in Johannesburg, South Africa.

About Amedisys

Amedisys, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides healthcare services in the United States. It operates through four segments: Home Health, Hospice, Personal Care, and High Acuity Care. The Home Health segment offers a range of services in the homes of individuals for the recovery of patients from surgery, chronic disability, or terminal illness, as well as prevents avoidable hospital readmissions through its skilled nurses; nursing services, rehabilitation therapists specialized in physical, speech, and occupational therapy; and social workers and aides for assisting its patients. The Hospice segment offers services that is designed to provide comfort and support for those who are dealing with a terminal illness, including cancer, heart disease, pulmonary disease, or Alzheimer's. The Personal Care segment provides assistance for patients with the activities of daily living. The High Acuity Care offers essential elements of inpatient hospital, skilled nursing facility care, and palliative care to patients in their homes. Amedisys, Inc. was incorporated in 1982 and is headquartered in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.