As the Q4 earnings season wraps, let’s dig into this quarter’s best and worst performers in the healthcare providers & services industry, including The Ensign Group (NASDAQ:ENSG) and its peers.
The healthcare providers and services sector, encompassing insurers to hospitals to outpatient care facilities, benefit from the consistent demand for healthcare services. Stable or even recurring revenues can be earned through insurance premiums, patient care contracts, and testing services agreements. However, the business models face challenges such as high operational costs especially if significant labor is involved. Reimbursement pressures from public and private payers can impact margins and an evolving regulatory landscape adds uncertainty to it all. Looking forward, this sector is poised to benefit from tailwinds such as the aging population, which means rising prevalence of chronic diseases. There is also broad demand for value-based care models, which emphasize cost efficiency and patient outcomes. Advances in telehealth, data analytics, and personalized medicine are likely to create new revenue opportunities for companies that can successfully digitize. However, headwinds abound, including labor shortages in clinical settings, continued reimbursement cuts, and regulatory scrutiny over pricing and care quality.
The 40 healthcare providers & services stocks we track reported a satisfactory Q4. As a group, revenues beat analysts’ consensus estimates by 1.6% while next quarter’s revenue guidance was in line.
While some healthcare providers & services stocks have fared somewhat better than others, they have collectively declined. On average, share prices are down 4.2% since the latest earnings results.
The Ensign Group (NASDAQ:ENSG)
Founded in 1999, The Ensign Group (NASDAQ:ENSG) provides skilled nursing, senior living, and rehabilitative care services through its network of facilities across the United States.
The Ensign Group reported revenues of $1.13 billion, up 15.5% year on year. This print was in line with analysts’ expectations, but overall, it was a mixed quarter for the company with sales volume in line with analysts’ estimates.
“Our leaders and their teams across the organization once again posted record clinical and financial results and continue to build remarkable momentum in each market across our portfolio,” said Barry Port, Ensign’s Chief Executive Officer.
The stock is down 15.6% since reporting and currently trades at $125.85.
Is now the time to buy The Ensign Group? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it’s free.
Best Q4: Option Care Health (NASDAQ:OPCH)
Founded in 1979, Option Care Health (NASDAQ:OPCH) delivers home and alternate site infusion therapy services, specializing in the administration of medications and care for patients with chronic and acute conditions.
Option Care Health reported revenues of $1.35 billion, up 19.7% year on year, outperforming analysts’ expectations by 4.9%. The business had an exceptional quarter with an impressive beat of analysts’ full-year EPS guidance estimates and a solid beat of analysts’ EPS estimates.
The market seems content with the results as the stock is up 1.6% since reporting. It currently trades at $33.17.
Is now the time to buy Option Care Health? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it’s free.
Weakest Q4: agilon health (NYSE:AGL)
Founded in 2016, Agilon Health (NYSE:AGL) is a healthcare services company that partners with primary care physicians to enhance patient care and improve health outcomes with a focus on seniors and older individuals.
agilon health reported revenues of $1.52 billion, up 44.2% year on year, in line with analysts’ expectations. It was a softer quarter as it posted full-year EBITDA guidance missing analysts’ expectations and a significant miss of analysts’ EPS estimates.
agilon health delivered the weakest full-year guidance update in the group. The company added 2,000 customers to reach a total of 527,000. Interestingly, the stock is up 9.7% since the results and currently trades at $3.97.
Read our full analysis of agilon health’s results here.
Molina Healthcare (NYSE:MOH)
Founded in 1980 as a clinic for underserved California residents, Molina Healthcare (NYSE:MOH) provides health insurance to individuals and families who are eligible for government-sponsored programs such as Medicare (elderly) and Medicaid (low-income).
Molina Healthcare reported revenues of $10.5 billion, up 16% year on year. This print topped analysts’ expectations by 1.9%. Aside from that, it was a slower quarter as it produced a significant miss of analysts’ full-year EPS guidance estimates.
The company lost 63,000 customers and ended up with a total of 5.54 million. The stock is flat since reporting and currently trades at $314.21.
Read our full, actionable report on Molina Healthcare here, it’s free.
Humana (NYSE:HUM)
Founded in 1961 as a nursing home company, Humana (NYSE:HUM) today offers health insurance plans that cover medical, dental, and vision needs.
Humana reported revenues of $29.2 billion, up 13.5% year on year. This number surpassed analysts’ expectations by 1.1%. Zooming out, it was a mixed quarter as it also logged full-year revenue guidance exceeding analysts’ expectations but a significant miss of analysts’ full-year EPS guidance estimates.
The company lost 11,000 customers and ended up with a total of 16.35 million. The stock is down 6.5% since reporting and currently trades at $249.39.
Read our full, actionable report on Humana here, it’s free.
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