Auna (NYSE:AUNA) vs. Pediatrix Medical Group (NYSE:MD) Head-To-Head Review

Auna (NYSE:AUNA) and Pediatrix Medical Group (NYSE:MD) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, risk, dividends, institutional ownership, earnings, profitability and valuation.

Volatility & Risk

Auna has a beta of 2.25, suggesting that its share price is 125% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Pediatrix Medical Group has a beta of 1.21, suggesting that its share price is 21% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

97.7% of Pediatrix Medical Group shares are held by institutional investors. 0.9% of Pediatrix Medical Group shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Auna and Pediatrix Medical Group”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Auna	$1.17 billion	0.39	$29.39 million	$0.58	10.72
Pediatrix Medical Group	$2.01 billion	0.62	-$99.07 million	$1.29	11.10

Auna has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Pediatrix Medical Group. Auna is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Pediatrix Medical Group, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares Auna and Pediatrix Medical Group’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Auna	3.67%	10.39%	2.38%
Pediatrix Medical Group	5.66%	18.94%	7.10%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for Auna and Pediatrix Medical Group, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Auna	0	2	1	0	2.33
Pediatrix Medical Group	0	4	2	0	2.33

Auna presently has a consensus target price of $10.70, suggesting a potential upside of 72.03%. Pediatrix Medical Group has a consensus target price of $16.6667, suggesting a potential upside of 16.35%. Given Auna’s higher probable upside, equities analysts clearly believe Auna is more favorable than Pediatrix Medical Group.

Summary

Pediatrix Medical Group beats Auna on 10 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Auna

Auna S.A., a healthcare service provider, operates hospitals and clinics in Mexico, Peru, and Colombia. The company provides prepaid healthcare plans in Peru; and dental and vision plans in Mexico. The company was founded in 1989 and is based in Luxembourg, Luxembourg.

About Pediatrix Medical Group

Pediatrix Medical Group, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides newborn, maternal-fetal, pediatric cardiology, and other pediatric subspecialty care services in the United States. It offers neonatal care services, such as clinical care to babies born prematurely or with complications within specific units at hospitals through neonatal physician subspecialists, neonatal nurse practitioners, and other pediatric clinicians. The company also provides maternal-fetal care services, including inpatient and office-based clinical care to expectant mothers and unborn babies through affiliated maternal-fetal medicine subspecialists, as well as obstetricians and other clinicians, including maternal-fetal nurse practitioners, certified nurse mid-wives, sonographers, and genetic counselors. In addition, it offers pediatric cardiology care services comprising inpatient and office-based pediatric cardiology care of the fetus, infant, child, and adolescent patient with congenital heart defects and acquired heart disease, as well as adults with congenital heart defects through affiliated pediatric cardiologist subspecialists and other related clinical professionals, including pediatric nurse practitioners, echocardiographers, other diagnostic technicians, and exercise physiologists; and specialized cardiac care to the fetus, neonatal and pediatric patients. Further, the company provides other pediatric subspecialty care services, such as pediatric intensivists, pediatric hospitalists, pediatric surgeons, and pediatric ophthalmologists, as well as pediatric ear, nose, and throat physicians, pediatric gastroenterologists; and support services in the areas of hospitals, primarily in the pediatric emergency rooms, labor and delivery areas, and nursery and pediatric departments. The company was formerly known as MEDNAX, Inc. and changed its name to Pediatrix Medical Group, Inc. in July 2022. Pediatrix Medical Group, Inc. was founded in 1979 and is based in Sunrise, Florida.