Head-To-Head Contrast: HealthEquity (NASDAQ:HQY) & Enhabit (NYSE:EHAB)

Enhabit (NYSE:EHAB) and HealthEquity (NASDAQ:HQY) are both medical companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, profitability, valuation, institutional ownership, risk, earnings and analyst recommendations.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

99.6% of HealthEquity shares are owned by institutional investors. 3.4% of Enhabit shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.5% of HealthEquity shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Enhabit and HealthEquity”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Enhabit	$1.03 billion	0.40	-$156.20 million	($2.67)	-3.04
HealthEquity	$1.20 billion	6.93	$96.70 million	$1.65	58.50

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

Profitability

This table compares Enhabit and HealthEquity’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Enhabit	-12.84%	2.72%	1.25%
HealthEquity	11.49%	12.04%	7.44%

Volatility and Risk

Enhabit has a beta of 1.69, indicating that its stock price is 69% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, HealthEquity has a beta of 0.5, indicating that its stock price is 50% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current recommendations for Enhabit and HealthEquity, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Enhabit	0	2	1	0	2.33
HealthEquity	0	1	11	1	3.00

Enhabit currently has a consensus target price of $8.67, suggesting a potential upside of 6.93%. HealthEquity has a consensus target price of $119.77, suggesting a potential upside of 24.07%. Given HealthEquity’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe HealthEquity is more favorable than Enhabit.

Summary

HealthEquity beats Enhabit on 13 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Enhabit

Enhabit, Inc. provides home health and hospice services in the United States. Its home health services include patient education, pain management, wound care and dressing changes, cardiac rehabilitation, infusion therapy, pharmaceutical administration, and skilled observation and assessment services; practices to treat chronic diseases and conditions, including diabetes, hypertension, arthritis, Alzheimer's disease, low vision, spinal stenosis, Parkinson's disease, osteoporosis, complex wound care and chronic pain, along with disease-specific plans for patients with diabetes, congestive heart failure, post-orthopedic surgery, or injury and respiratory diseases; and physical, occupational and speech therapists provide therapy services. The company offers hospice services, including pain and symptom management, palliative and dietary counseling, social worker visits, spiritual counseling, and bereavement counseling services to meet the individual physical, emotional, spiritual, and psychosocial needs of terminally ill patients and their families. The company was formerly known as Encompass Health Home Health Holdings, Inc. and changed its name to Enhabit, Inc. in March 2022. Enhabit, Inc. was founded in 1998 and is based in Dallas, Texas.

About HealthEquity

HealthEquity, Inc. provides technology-enabled services platforms to consumers and employers in the United States. The company offers cloud-based platforms for individuals to make health saving and spending decisions, pay healthcare bills, receive personalized benefit information, earn wellness incentives, grow their savings, and make investment choices; and health savings accounts. It also provides investment platform; and online-only automated investment advisory services through Advisor, a Web-based tool. In addition, the company offers flexible spending accounts; health reimbursement arrangements; and Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act continuation services, as well as administers pre-tax commuter benefit programs. It serves clients through a direct sales force; benefits brokers and advisors; and a network of health plans, benefits administrators, benefits brokers and consultants, and retirement plan record-keepers. HealthEquity, Inc. was incorporated in 2002 and is based in Draper, Utah.