Analyzing The Ensign Group (NASDAQ:ENSG) & Concord Medical Services (NYSE:CCM)

The Ensign Group (NASDAQ:ENSG) and Concord Medical Services (NYSE:CCM) are both medical companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, profitability, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, earnings, valuation and risk.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

96.1% of The Ensign Group shares are held by institutional investors. 3.9% of The Ensign Group shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 46.5% of Concord Medical Services shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Risk and Volatility

The Ensign Group has a beta of 1.03, meaning that its share price is 3% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Concord Medical Services has a beta of -0.9, meaning that its share price is 190% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and price targets for The Ensign Group and Concord Medical Services, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
The Ensign Group	0	1	5	0	2.83
Concord Medical Services	0	0	0	0	0.00

The Ensign Group presently has a consensus target price of $163.50, indicating a potential upside of 15.81%. Given The Ensign Group’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities analysts plainly believe The Ensign Group is more favorable than Concord Medical Services.

Profitability

This table compares The Ensign Group and Concord Medical Services’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
The Ensign Group	6.99%	16.90%	6.56%
Concord Medical Services	N/A	N/A	N/A

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares The Ensign Group and Concord Medical Services”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
The Ensign Group	$4.26 billion	1.91	$297.97 million	$5.29	26.69
Concord Medical Services	$52.60 million	0.44	-$42.23 million	N/A	N/A

The Ensign Group has higher revenue and earnings than Concord Medical Services.

Summary

The Ensign Group beats Concord Medical Services on 11 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.

About The Ensign Group

The Ensign Group, Inc. provides skilled nursing, senior living, and rehabilitative services. It operates through two segments: Skilled Services and Standard Bearer. The company's Skilled Services segment engages in the operation of skilled nursing facilities and rehabilitation therapy services for patients with chronic conditions, prolonged illness, and the elderly; and offers nursing facilities including specialty care, such as on-site dialysis, ventilator care, cardiac, and pulmonary management, as well as standard services comprising room and board, special nutritional programs, social services, recreational activities, entertainment, and other services. Its Standard Bearer segment is comprised of selected real estate properties owned by Standard Bearer and leased to skilled nursing and senior living operators. In addition, the company provides ancillary services consisting of digital x-ray, ultrasound, electrocardiograms, sub-acute services, dialysis, respiratory, and long-term care pharmacy and patient transportation to people in their homes or at long-term care facilities, as well as mobile diagnostics. It operates in Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, Nevada, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, Washington and Wisconsin. The company was incorporated in 1999 and is based in San Juan Capistrano, California.

About Concord Medical Services

Concord Medical Services Holdings Limited, through its subsidiaries, operates a network of radiotherapy and diagnostic imaging centers in the People's Republic of China. It operates in two segments, Network and Hospital. The company's services include linear accelerators and external beam radiotherapy, proton therapy system, gamma knife radiosurgery, and diagnostic imaging services. Its other treatments and diagnostic services comprise positron emission tomography-computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging scanners. In addition, the company provides clinical support services, such as developing treatment protocols for doctors, and organizing joint diagnosis between doctors in its network and clinical research, as well as helps to recruit and determine the compensation of doctors and other medical personnel. Further, it offers radiotherapy and diagnostic equipment leasing, management services, and premium cancer and proton treatment services to hospitals, as well as teleconsultation and medical information technology services; and sells medical equipment. Additionally, the company operates specialty cancer hospitals, which offers radiation, imaging, test laboratory, inpatient, and nursing services. Concord Medical Services Holdings Limited was founded in 1997 and is headquartered in Beijing, the People's Republic of China.