ENSIGN GROUP, INC vs UNIVERSAL HEALTH SERVICES, INC., two Medical Care stocks. A side-by-side on valuation, growth, margins, returns, and what each price is betting.
Neither growth rate is printed, but the acquisition cadence lives in the multiples: Ensign at 26.6 times earnings is priced as a compounder that keeps buying and fixing skilled-nursing facilities, Universal Health at 6.1 times as a mature hospital estate the market expects to shrink into its margins. Current economics favor UHS on most lines, an 11.2% operating margin against 9%, a 20.2% return on equity against 15.3%, and a 10.2% free-cash yield against 6.1%. Ensign's edge is the balance sheet, 0.06 turns of debt against 0.72, dry powder for the next dozen facilities. Twenty turns of multiple separate a machine the market believes will repeat from one it believes has peaked.
Comparison updated 2026-07-10.
| Metric | ENSG | UHS |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $163.16 | $145.68 |
| Market cap | $9.7B | $9.0B |
| Sector | Medical Care | Medical Care |
| Stage | Growth | Mature |
| Implied growth (priced in) | +6.5% | — |
| P/E | 26.6 | 6.1 |
| P/B | 4.10 | 1.19 |
| P/S | 1.84 | 0.51 |
| EV/EBITDA | 16.7 | 5.4 |
| Revenue growth | +19.2% | +10.4% |
| Operating margin | 9.0% | 11.2% |
| Net margin | 6.9% | 8.6% |
| Return on equity | 15.3% | 20.2% |
| Return on assets | 6.5% | 9.7% |
| Return on invested capital | 13.9% | 12.0% |
| FCF yield | 6.1% | 10.2% |
| Dividend yield | 0.1% | 0.6% |
| Debt / equity | 0.06 | 0.72 |
| Current ratio | 1.56 | 1.08 |
| Altman Z (solvency) | 3.37 | 7.26 |
| Piotroski F (quality) | 7 / 9 | 7 / 9 |
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The stronger value is highlighted per metric where one is strictly better on that single number; it is not an overall verdict on either company. For informational and research purposes only. Not investment advice. Not a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any security. boothcheck is not a registered investment adviser. Past performance does not guarantee future results.