Critical Analysis: Agilon Health (NYSE:AGL) & The Ensign Group (NASDAQ:ENSG)

Agilon Health (NYSE:AGL) and The Ensign Group (NASDAQ:ENSG) are both healthcare companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, valuation, risk, analyst recommendations, earnings, dividends and profitability.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Agilon Health and The Ensign Group”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Agilon Health	$5.93 billion	0.26	-$391.35 million	($14.27)	-6.41
The Ensign Group	$5.06 billion	2.03	$343.97 million	$6.38	27.59

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

Profitability

This table compares Agilon Health and The Ensign Group’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Agilon Health	-3.92%	-119.38%	-16.85%
The Ensign Group	6.90%	16.75%	6.97%

Risk & Volatility

Agilon Health has a beta of 2.98, indicating that its stock price is 198% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, The Ensign Group has a beta of 0.66, indicating that its stock price is 34% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and target prices for Agilon Health and The Ensign Group, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Agilon Health	2	6	6	0	2.29
The Ensign Group	0	2	4	0	2.67

Agilon Health presently has a consensus target price of $102.25, indicating a potential upside of 11.82%. The Ensign Group has a consensus target price of $216.25, indicating a potential upside of 22.87%. Given The Ensign Group’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe The Ensign Group is more favorable than Agilon Health.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

96.1% of The Ensign Group shares are owned by institutional investors. 2.5% of Agilon Health shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 4.0% of The Ensign Group shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

The Ensign Group beats Agilon Health on 11 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Agilon Health

agilon health, inc. provides healthcare services for seniors through primary care physicians in the communities of the United States. It offers a platform that manages the total healthcare needs of the patients by subscription-like per-member per-month. The company was formerly known as Agilon Health Topco, Inc. and changed its name to agilon health, inc. in March 2021. agilon health, inc. was founded in 2016 and is based in Austin, Texas.

About The Ensign Group

The Ensign Group, Inc. provides skilled nursing, senior living, and rehabilitative services. It operates through two segments: Skilled Services and Standard Bearer. The company's Skilled Services segment engages in the operation of skilled nursing facilities and rehabilitation therapy services for patients with chronic conditions, prolonged illness, and the elderly; and offers nursing facilities including specialty care, such as on-site dialysis, ventilator care, cardiac, and pulmonary management, as well as standard services comprising room and board, special nutritional programs, social services, recreational activities, entertainment, and other services. Its Standard Bearer segment is comprised of selected real estate properties owned by Standard Bearer and leased to skilled nursing and senior living operators. In addition, the company provides ancillary services consisting of digital x-ray, ultrasound, electrocardiograms, sub-acute services, dialysis, respiratory, and long-term care pharmacy and patient transportation to people in their homes or at long-term care facilities, as well as mobile diagnostics. It operates in Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, Nevada, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, Washington and Wisconsin. The company was incorporated in 1999 and is based in San Juan Capistrano, California.