LifeStance Health Group (NASDAQ:LFST) and Addus HomeCare (NASDAQ:ADUS) Critical Review

Addus HomeCare (NASDAQ:ADUS) and LifeStance Health Group (NASDAQ:LFST) are both medical companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, earnings, risk, profitability, valuation and dividends.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for Addus HomeCare and LifeStance Health Group, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Addus HomeCare	1	2	8	1	2.75
LifeStance Health Group	1	1	5	2	2.89

Addus HomeCare presently has a consensus target price of $136.90, suggesting a potential upside of 27.35%. LifeStance Health Group has a consensus target price of $8.83, suggesting a potential upside of 21.84%. Given Addus HomeCare’s higher possible upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Addus HomeCare is more favorable than LifeStance Health Group.

Volatility and Risk

Addus HomeCare has a beta of 0.92, suggesting that its share price is 8% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, LifeStance Health Group has a beta of 1.12, suggesting that its share price is 12% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Addus HomeCare and LifeStance Health Group’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Addus HomeCare	6.36%	9.53%	6.81%
LifeStance Health Group	-0.67%	-0.62%	-0.43%

Institutional and Insider Ownership

95.4% of Addus HomeCare shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 85.5% of LifeStance Health Group shares are held by institutional investors. 4.5% of Addus HomeCare shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 6.6% of LifeStance Health Group shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Addus HomeCare and LifeStance Health Group”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Addus HomeCare	$1.15 billion	1.72	$73.60 million	$4.67	23.02
LifeStance Health Group	$1.25 billion	2.25	-$57.44 million	($0.03)	-241.67

Addus HomeCare has higher earnings, but lower revenue than LifeStance Health Group. LifeStance Health Group is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Addus HomeCare, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

Addus HomeCare beats LifeStance Health Group on 9 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Addus HomeCare

Addus HomeCare Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides personal care services to elderly, chronically ill, disabled persons, and individuals who are at risk of hospitalization or institutionalization in the United States. The company operates through three segments: Personal Care, Hospice, and Home Health. The Personal Care segment provides non-medical assistance with activities of daily living. This segment offers services that include assistance with bathing, grooming, oral care, feeding and dressing, medication reminders, meal planning and preparation, housekeeping, and transportation services. The Hospice segment provides palliative nursing care, social work, spiritual counseling, homemaker, and bereavement counseling services for people who are terminally ill, as well as related services for their families. The Home Health segment offers skilled nursing and physical, occupational, and speech therapy for the individuals who requires assistance during an illness or after hospitalization. The company's payor clients include federal, state, and local governmental agencies; managed care organizations; commercial insurers; and private individuals. Addus HomeCare Corporation was founded in 1979 and is headquartered in Frisco, Texas.

About LifeStance Health Group

LifeStance Health Group, Inc., through its subsidiaries, provides outpatient mental health services to children, adolescents, adults, and geriatrics in the United States. The company offers patients a suite of mental health services, including psychiatric evaluations and treatment, psychological, and neuropsychological testing, as well as individual, family, and group therapy. It treats a range of mental health conditions, including anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder, eating disorders, psychotic disorders, and post-traumatic stress disorder. In addition, the company operates an outpatient mental health platform, as well as offers patient care virtually through its online delivery platform or in-person at its centers. LifeStance Health Group, Inc. was founded in 2017 and is headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona.