EHC
Encompass Health Corporation
EHC has the edge over UNH overall, supported by stronger fundamentals and lower modeled downside.
UNH
UnitedHealth Group Incorporated
UNH offers stronger modeled upside, but that advantage does not outweigh its weaker overall profile.
EHC Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Stable | |
| Healthy | |
| Healthy | |
| Healthy |
EHC's profitability, cash flow and balance sheet are currently healthy, and its revenue is stable.
UNH Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Stable | |
| Stable | |
| Healthy | |
| Healthy |
UNH's cash flow and balance sheet are currently healthy, and its revenue and profitability are stable.
EHC PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheap | 18x | $112 | -20% |
| Forward | 21x | $141 | — |
| Fair | 22x | $139 | -1.3% |
| Current | 22x | $141 | — |
| Expensive | 24x | $157 | +11% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
EHC has the edge over UNH in the historical PE scenario, which offers more potential upside but is not a forecast.
UNH PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forward | 18x | $405 | — |
| Cheap | 19x | $325 | -20% |
| Fair | 23x | $410 | +1.2% |
| Current | 23x | $405 | — |
| Expensive | 30x | $526 | +30% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
UNH's PE is in its fair range at 23x. If earnings grow as analysts expect, today's price would be 18x next year's earnings, in its cheap range.
EHC Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Stable | |
| Growth | |
| Growth | |
| Improving | |
| Limited | |
| High |
Analysts expect earnings and revenue growth for EHC, with profitability improving.
UNH Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Strong growth | |
| Stable | |
| Improving | |
| Moderate | |
| Low |
Analysts expect UNH's earnings to grow and its profitability to improve, with its revenue holding steady. However, they disagree widely on these estimates.
EHC Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $6.72 | +4.9% |
| Q3 2026 | $6.40 | +21% |
| Q2 2026 | $6.14 | +20% |
| Q1 2026 | $5.99 | +24% |
| Q4 2025 | $5.54 | +24% |
| Q3 2025 | $5.29 | +28% |
| Q2 2025 | $5.11 | +30% |
| Q1 2025 | $4.84 | +31% |
| Q4 2024 | $4.46 | +29% |
EHC has the edge over UNH on earnings, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
UNH Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $22.65 | +29% |
| Q3 2026 | $17.55 | -8.5% |
| Q2 2026 | $15.58 | -33% |
| Q1 2026 | $13.28 | -44% |
| Q4 2025 | $13.23 | -15% |
| Q3 2025 | $19.17 | +25% |
| Q2 2025 | $23.09 | +53% |
| Q1 2025 | $23.89 | +46% |
| Q4 2024 | $15.51 | -35% |
UNH's earnings per share have fallen from their peak: $17.55 over the past year, against $23.89 in early 2025.
EHC Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $1.6B | +8.9% |
| Q2 2026 | $1.6B | +9.6% |
| Q1 2026 | $1.6B | +9% |
| Q4 2025 | $1.5B | +9.9% |
| Q3 2025 | $1.5B | +9.4% |
| Q2 2025 | $1.5B | +12% |
| Q1 2025 | $1.5B | +11% |
| Q4 2024 | $1.4B | +13% |
EHC has the edge over UNH on sales, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 18% | +1.4 points |
| Q2 2026 | 18% | +0.3 points |
| Q1 2026 | 19% | +0.7 points |
| Q4 2025 | 18% | +1.8 points |
| Q3 2025 | 16% | +1 points |
| Q2 2025 | 18% | +1.2 points |
| Q1 2025 | 18% | +2.6 points |
| Q4 2024 | 17% | +1.3 points |
EHC has the edge over UNH on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
UNH Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $112.7B | -0.4% |
| Q2 2026 | $112B | +0.4% |
| Q1 2026 | $111.7B | +2% |
| Q4 2025 | $113.2B | +12% |
| Q3 2025 | $113.2B | +12% |
| Q2 2025 | $111.6B | +13% |
| Q1 2025 | $109.6B | +9.8% |
| Q4 2024 | $100.8B | +6.8% |
UNH's revenue has held roughly level: $113B last quarter, about level with the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 5.8% | +2 points |
| Q2 2026 | 7.1% | +2.5 points |
| Q1 2026 | 8.1% | -0.3 points |
| Q4 2025 | 0.3% | -7.4 points |
| Q3 2025 | 3.8% | -4.8 points |
| Q2 2025 | 4.6% | -3.4 points |
| Q1 2025 | 8.3% | +0.4 points |
| Q4 2024 | 7.7% | -0.4 points |
UNH's operating margin was 5.8% last quarter, up 2 points from the same quarter a year ago.
EHC Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $127.5M | +52% |
| Q2 2026 | $62.3M | -45% |
| Q1 2026 | $150.7M | +20% |
| Q4 2025 | $116.7M | +46% |
| Q3 2025 | $83.7M | -30% |
| Q2 2025 | $113.3M | +87% |
| Q1 2025 | $125.5M | +26% |
| Q4 2024 | $80.1M | +$101.7M |
EHC has the edge over UNH on cash flow, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
UNH Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $4.3B | -16% |
| Q2 2026 | $10.3B | +63% |
| Q1 2026 | $8.1B | +79% |
| Q4 2025 | $160M | -89% |
| Q3 2025 | $5.1B | -61% |
| Q2 2025 | $6.3B | +6.9% |
| Q1 2025 | $4.6B | +1037% |
| Q4 2024 | $1.5B | +$7.6B |
UNH still generates free cash flow, though less than at its 2022 peak: $22.8B over the past year.
EHC Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -0.3% | -300K shares |
| 1 year | -2.5% | -2.6M shares |
| 3 years | -1.7% | -1.7M shares |
| 5 years | -0.5% | -500K shares |
| Available history | +0.3% | +300K shares |
EHC has the edge over UNH on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $57.9M |
| Q2 2026 | $74.2M |
| Q1 2026 | $71.6M |
| Q4 2025 | $76.3M |
| Q3 2025 | $24.9M |
| Q2 2025 | $24.7M |
| Q1 2025 | $32.1M |
| Q4 2024 | $7.5M |
EHC spent $280M buying back its own shares over the past year, about three times what it spent the year before.
UNH Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -0.4% | -4M shares |
| 1 year | -0.7% | -6M shares |
| 3 years | -3.6% | -34M shares |
| 5 years | -5.5% | -53M shares |
| Available history | -6.6% | -64M shares |
UNH has 902M diluted shares, down 0.7% from a year ago, with $5B in buybacks over the past year.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $3.4B |
| Q2 2026 | $1.6B |
| Q1 2026 | — |
| Q4 2025 | — |
| Q3 2025 | — |
| Q2 2025 | $2.5B |
| Q1 2025 | $3B |
| Q4 2024 | $5B |
UNH spent $5B buying back its own shares over the past year, down 52% from the year before.
EHC Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 1.7x | Healthy |
| Q2 2026 | 1.7x | Healthy |
| Q1 2026 | 1.7x | Healthy |
| Q4 2025 | 1.8x | Healthy |
| Q3 2025 | 1.8x | Healthy |
| Q2 2025 | 1.8x | Healthy |
| Q1 2025 | 1.9x | Healthy |
| Q4 2024 | 2.1x | Moderate |
EHC has the edge over UNH on leverage, with a lower net debt burden relative to earnings.
UNH Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 1.7x | Healthy |
| Q2 2026 | 1.7x | Healthy |
| Q1 2026 | 2.2x | Moderate |
| Q4 2025 | 2.3x | Moderate |
| Q3 2025 | 1.7x | Healthy |
| Q2 2025 | 1.5x | Healthy |
| Q1 2025 | 1.3x | Healthy |
| Q4 2024 | 1.4x | Healthy |
UNH's net debt is about 1.7 years of its operating earnings (EBITDA), about the same as a year ago.
EHC Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 72.7 | Overbought |
| Stochastic | 88.7 | Overbought |
EHC's weekly RSI is 73 (overbought) and its Stochastic is 89 (overbought).
UNH Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 56.4 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 60.0 | Neutral |
UNH's weekly RSI is 56 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 60 (neutral).
EHC PE vs Healthcare Sector
| Metric | EHC | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 22x | 26x | 15% below |
| PE % | 53 | 29 | 24 pts above |
EHC has the edge over UNH on valuation relative to its sector.
UNH PE vs Healthcare Sector
| Metric | UNH | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 23x | 26x | 11% below |
| PE % | 47 | 29 | 18 pts above |
UNH is trading at 23x earnings, a 11% discount to the Healthcare sector's median of 26x.
EHC Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $129.1 | 9.1% above |
| 20 week MA | $122.0 | 15% above |
| 50 week MA | $111.1 | 27% above |
| 100 week MA | $111.2 | 27% above |
| 200 week MA | $93.1 | 51% above |
EHC has the edge over UNH on trend strength, trading above more of its moving averages.
UNH Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $394.2 | 2.8% above |
| 20 week MA | $400.5 | 1.2% above |
| 50 week MA | $361.2 | 12% above |
| 100 week MA | $376.0 | 7.8% above |
| 200 week MA | $446.6 | 9.3% below |
UNH has bounced recently, but its long-term trend is still down: it's above its 8-, 20-, 50- and 100-week averages, but 9.3% below its 200-week average.
EHC Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $55.5 | $65.7 | +19% |
| 2021 | $65.7 | $51.0 | -22% |
| 2022 | $51.0 | $59.3 | +16% |
| 2023 | $59.3 | $66.7 | +13% |
| 2024 | $66.7 | $93.6 | +40% |
| 2025 | $93.6 | $107.5 | +15% |
| 2026 YTD | $107.5 | $140.8 | +31% |
EHC has the edge over UNH on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.
UNH Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $296.0 | $340.8 | +15% |
| 2021 | $340.8 | $495.4 | +45% |
| 2022 | $495.4 | $531.3 | +7.3% |
| 2023 | $531.3 | $526.5 | -0.9% |
| 2024 | $526.5 | $510.0 | -3.1% |
| 2025 | $510.0 | $331.8 | -35% |
| 2026 YTD | $331.8 | $405.1 | +22% |
UNH has finished three years in a row lower, and it's up 22% so far in 2026.