Aveanna Healthcare (NASDAQ:AVAH) & Encompass Health (NYSE:EHC) Head-To-Head Survey

Aveanna Healthcare (NASDAQ:AVAH) and Encompass Health (NYSE:EHC) are both medical companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, profitability, earnings, valuation, risk, dividends and analyst recommendations.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

88.0% of Aveanna Healthcare shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 97.3% of Encompass Health shares are owned by institutional investors. 7.8% of Aveanna Healthcare shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 2.0% of Encompass Health shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for Aveanna Healthcare and Encompass Health, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Aveanna Healthcare	0	5	5	1	2.64
Encompass Health	0	1	7	2	3.10

Aveanna Healthcare presently has a consensus target price of $10.38, indicating a potential upside of 56.96%. Encompass Health has a consensus target price of $143.29, indicating a potential upside of 46.62%. Given Aveanna Healthcare’s higher possible upside, equities analysts plainly believe Aveanna Healthcare is more favorable than Encompass Health.

Profitability

This table compares Aveanna Healthcare and Encompass Health’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Aveanna Healthcare	9.25%	481.69%	6.08%
Encompass Health	9.54%	18.20%	8.15%

Risk & Volatility

Aveanna Healthcare has a beta of 2.07, meaning that its stock price is 107% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Encompass Health has a beta of 0.71, meaning that its stock price is 29% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Aveanna Healthcare and Encompass Health”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Aveanna Healthcare	$2.43 billion	0.59	$225.03 million	$1.02	6.48
Encompass Health	$5.94 billion	1.64	$566.20 million	$5.54	17.64

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

Summary

Encompass Health beats Aveanna Healthcare on 11 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Aveanna Healthcare

Aveanna Healthcare Holdings Inc., a diversified home care platform company, provides pediatric and adult healthcare services in the United States. Its patient-centered care delivery platform allows patients to remain in their homes and minimizes the overutilization of high-cost care settings, such as hospitals or skilled nursing facilities. The company operates through three segments: Private Duty Services (PDS), Home Health & Hospice (HHH), and Medical Solutions (MS). The PDS segment offers PDN services, which include in-home skilled nursing services to medically fragile children and adults; nursing services in school settings in which its caregivers accompany patients to school; services to patients in its pediatric day healthcare centers; and employer of record support and personal care services, as well as in-clinic and home-based therapy services, such as physical, occupational, and speech services. The HHH segment provides home health services, including in-home skilled nursing services; physical, occupational, and speech therapy services; and medical social and aide services, as well as hospice services for patients and their families when a life-limiting illness no longer responds to cure-oriented treatments. The MS segment offers enteral nutrition supplies and other products, including formulas, supplies, and pumps to adults and children delivered on a periodic or as-needed basis. The company was incorporated in 2016 and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia.

About Encompass Health

Encompass Health Corporation provides post-acute healthcare services in the United States and Puerto Rico. It owns and operates inpatient rehabilitation hospitals that provide medical, nursing, therapy, and ancillary services. The company provides specialized rehabilitative treatment on an inpatient basis to patients who have experienced physical or cognitive disabilities or injuries due to medical conditions, such as strokes, hip fractures, and various debilitating neurological conditions. It offers services through the Medicare program to federal government, managed care plans and private insurers, state governments, and other patients. The company was formerly known as HealthSouth Corporation and changed its name to Encompass Health Corporation in January 2018. The company was incorporated in 1984 and is based in Birmingham, Alabama.