NATIONAL HEALTHCARE CORP vs OPTION CARE HEALTH, INC., two Medical Care stocks. A side-by-side on valuation, growth, margins, returns, and what each price is betting.
National HealthCare at 25.5 times earnings is priced for skilled nursing to stay exactly as it is; Option Care at 17 times for home infusion to keep growing into care's migration out of institutions, and the ordering is the interesting part: the market pays more for stasis than for the trend. NHC's case is purity, no debt, an 8.1% net margin, a 1.3% dividend, small-town durability; Option Care's is direction, 15.3% returns on equity against 11.3%, a 6.2% free-cash yield against 5.3%. Both are $3B companies. Eight turns of premium for the one standing still is either a judgment about reimbursement risk in home care or an oversight; the page cannot say which.
Comparison updated 2026-07-10.
| Metric | NHC | OPCH |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $200.71 | $21.76 |
| Market cap | $3.2B | $3.4B |
| Sector | Medical Care | Medical Care |
| Stage | Mature | Mature |
| Implied growth (priced in) | +13.2% | -4.3% |
| P/E | 25.5 | 17.0 |
| P/B | 2.89 | 2.55 |
| P/S | 2.07 | 0.61 |
| EV/EBITDA | 17.6 | 11.1 |
| Revenue growth | +11.0% | +9.4% |
| Gross margin | — | 19.4% |
| Operating margin | 8.4% | 5.4% |
| Net margin | 8.1% | 3.6% |
| Return on equity | 11.3% | 15.3% |
| Return on assets | 8.1% | 6.1% |
| Return on invested capital | 9.5% | 9.8% |
| FCF yield | 5.3% | 6.2% |
| Dividend yield | 1.3% | — |
| Debt / equity | 0.00 | 0.86 |
| Current ratio | 1.86 | 1.64 |
| Altman Z (solvency) | 6.47 | 3.31 |
| Piotroski F (quality) | 6 / 9 | 4 / 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.