Contrasting Select Medical (NYSE:SEM) and American Caresource (OTCMKTS:GNOW)

Select Medical (NYSE:SEM) and American Caresource (OTCMKTS:GNOW) are both medical companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, valuation, dividends, institutional ownership, profitability, earnings and risk.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

89.5% of Select Medical shares are owned by institutional investors. 11.6% of Select Medical shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 51.5% of American Caresource shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and price targets for Select Medical and American Caresource, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Select Medical	0	1	4	0	2.80
American Caresource	0	0	0	0	0.00

Select Medical presently has a consensus price target of $19.20, suggesting a potential upside of 48.33%. Given Select Medical’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Select Medical is more favorable than American Caresource.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Select Medical and American Caresource”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Select Medical	$5.28 billion	0.30	$214.04 million	$1.06	12.21
American Caresource	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

Select Medical has higher revenue and earnings than American Caresource.

Profitability

This table compares Select Medical and American Caresource’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Select Medical	2.37%	8.87%	2.93%
American Caresource	N/A	N/A	N/A

Summary

Select Medical beats American Caresource on 8 of the 9 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Select Medical

Select Medical Holdings Corporation, through its subsidiaries, operates critical illness recovery hospitals, rehabilitation hospitals, outpatient rehabilitation clinics, and occupational health centers in the United States. It operates in four segments: Critical Illness Recovery Hospital, Rehabilitation Hospital, Outpatient Rehabilitation, and Concentra. The Critical Illness Recovery Hospital segment consists of hospitals that provide services for heart failure, infectious disease, respiratory failure and pulmonary disease, surgery requiring prolonged recovery, renal disease, neurological events, and trauma. The Rehabilitation Hospital segment offers therapy and rehabilitation treatments, including rehabilitative services for brain and spinal cord injuries, strokes, amputations, neurological disorders, orthopedic conditions, pediatric congenital or acquired disabilities, and cancer. The Outpatient Rehabilitation segment operates rehabilitation clinics that provide physical, occupational, and speech rehabilitation programs and services; and specialized programs, such as functional programs for work related injuries, hand therapy, post-concussion rehabilitation, pediatric and cancer rehabilitation, and athletic training services. The Concentra segment operates and provides occupational health centers, telemedicine platforms, onsite clinics, and contract services at employer worksites that deliver occupational health services, consumer health, physical therapy, and preventive care. Select Medical Holdings Corporation was founded in 1996 and is headquartered in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania.

About American Caresource

American CareSource Holdings, Inc. provides urgent and primary care services in the United States. The company operates healthcare centers that offer non-life-threatening out-patient medical care for the treatment of acute, episodic, and chronic medical conditions. Its healthcare centers provide treatment of general medical problems, including colds, flus, ear infections, hypertension, asthma, pneumonia, urinary tract infections, and other conditions; treatment of injuries, such as fractures, dislocations, sprains, bruises, and cuts; minor non-emergent surgical procedures; diagnostic tests, such as X-rays, electrocardiograms, complete blood counts, and urinalyses; and occupational and industrial medical services, including drug testing, workers’ compensation cases, and pre-employment physical examinations. It owns and operates 13 urgent and primary care centers, including 2 in Georgia, 2 in Florida, 3 in Alabama, 4 in North Carolina, and 2 in Virginia. The company was founded in 1995 and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia.