Contrasting Acadia Healthcare (NASDAQ:ACHC) and Universal Health Services (NYSE:UHS)

Acadia Healthcare (NASDAQ:ACHC) and Universal Health Services (NYSE:UHS) are both medical companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their risk, dividends, profitability, valuation, institutional ownership, earnings and analyst recommendations.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Acadia Healthcare and Universal Health Services”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Acadia Healthcare	$3.15 billion	0.70	$255.61 million	$2.03	11.86
Universal Health Services	$15.83 billion	0.75	$1.14 billion	$17.82	10.30

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

Institutional and Insider Ownership

86.1% of Universal Health Services shares are owned by institutional investors. 2.0% of Acadia Healthcare shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 16.4% of Universal Health Services shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Acadia Healthcare and Universal Health Services’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Acadia Healthcare	5.94%	8.72%	4.46%
Universal Health Services	7.44%	17.79%	8.27%

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for Acadia Healthcare and Universal Health Services, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Acadia Healthcare	0	4	6	0	2.60
Universal Health Services	0	9	6	0	2.40

Acadia Healthcare presently has a consensus price target of $47.94, indicating a potential upside of 99.10%. Universal Health Services has a consensus price target of $224.77, indicating a potential upside of 22.50%. Given Acadia Healthcare’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities analysts plainly believe Acadia Healthcare is more favorable than Universal Health Services.

Volatility & Risk

Acadia Healthcare has a beta of 0.93, suggesting that its share price is 7% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Universal Health Services has a beta of 1.28, suggesting that its share price is 28% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Universal Health Services beats Acadia Healthcare on 10 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Acadia Healthcare

Acadia Healthcare Company, Inc. provides behavioral healthcare services in the United States and Puerto Rico. The company develops and operates acute inpatient psychiatric facilities, specialty treatment facilities comprising residential recovery facilities and eating disorder facilities, comprehensive treatment centers, and residential treatment centers, as well as facilities offering outpatient behavioral healthcare services for the behavioral healthcare and recovery needs of communities. Acadia Healthcare Company, Inc. was founded in 2005 and is headquartered in Franklin, Tennessee.

About Universal Health Services

Universal Health Services, Inc., through its subsidiaries, owns and operates acute care hospitals, and outpatient and behavioral health care facilities. It operates through Acute Care Hospital Services and Behavioral Health Care Services segments. The company's hospitals offer general and specialty surgery, internal medicine, obstetrics, emergency room care, radiology, oncology, diagnostic and coronary care, pediatric services, pharmacy services, and/or behavioral health services. It also provides commercial health insurance services; and various management services, which include central purchasing, information, finance and control systems, facilities planning, physician recruitment, administrative personnel management, marketing, and public relations services. Universal Health Services, Inc. founded in 1978 and is headquartered in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania.