NHC
National HealthCare Corporation
NHC's fundamentals are strong, but it looks expensive: trading at 29x earnings, above its usual 22x.
NHC Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Stable | |
| Healthy | |
| Healthy | |
| Stable |
NHC's profitability and cash flow are currently healthy, and its revenue and balance sheet are stable.
NHC PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheap | 12x | $88.68 | -58% |
| Fair | 22x | $156 | -26% |
| Current | 29x | $211 | — |
| Expensive | 33x | $242 | +15% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
NHC's PE is in its expensive range at 29x.
NHC Forward outlook
There aren't enough analyst estimates for NHC to show an outlook.
NHC Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $7.24 | +12% |
| Q2 2026 | $8.89 | +33% |
| Q1 2026 | $7.87 | +14% |
| Q4 2025 | $7.67 | +17% |
| Q3 2025 | $6.47 | -19% |
| Q2 2025 | $6.70 | +13% |
| Q1 2025 | $6.91 | +31% |
| Q4 2024 | $6.53 | +50% |
NHC's earnings per share have fallen from their peak: $7.24 over the past year, against $10.82 in mid-2021.
NHC Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $408M | +6.6% |
| Q2 2026 | $408M | +8.8% |
| Q1 2026 | $381.8M | +2.2% |
| Q4 2025 | $386.5M | +4.6% |
| Q3 2025 | $382.7M | +12% |
| Q2 2025 | $374.9M | +25% |
| Q1 2025 | $373.7M | +26% |
| Q4 2024 | $369.4M | +23% |
NHC's revenue has grown year over year for 14 quarters in a row: $408M last quarter, up 6.6% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 10% | +2 points |
| Q2 2026 | 12% | +2.9 points |
| Q1 2026 | 8.4% | +0.2 points |
| Q4 2025 | 8.6% | +1.4 points |
| Q3 2025 | 7.9% | +1.8 points |
| Q2 2025 | 9.1% | +1.6 points |
| Q1 2025 | 8.2% | +3 points |
| Q4 2024 | 7.2% | +0.5 points |
NHC's operating margin was 10% last quarter, up 2 points from the same quarter a year ago, near the top of its range since 2019.
NHC Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $99.2M | +76% |
| Q2 2026 | $30.7M | -42% |
| Q1 2026 | $52.9M | +60% |
| Q4 2025 | $6.4M | +38% |
| Q3 2025 | $56.5M | +98% |
| Q2 2025 | $52.6M | +23% |
| Q1 2025 | $33.1M | +797% |
| Q4 2024 | $4.6M | -73% |
NHC generated $189M in free cash flow over the past year, up 29% from the year before.
NHC Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | +0.6% | +101K shares |
| 1 year | +1.9% | +300K shares |
| 3 years | +4.2% | +640K shares |
| 5 years | +3.9% | +601K shares |
| Available history | +3.9% | +605K shares |
NHC has 16M diluted shares, up 1.9% from a year ago.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $1.1M |
| Q2 2026 | $7.2M |
| Q1 2026 | $16.3M |
| Q4 2025 | $5.2M |
| Q3 2025 | $3.2M |
| Q2 2025 | $4.7M |
| Q1 2025 | $1.7M |
| Q4 2024 | — |
NHC spent $30M buying back its own shares over the past year, about three times what it spent the year before.
NHC Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 2.1x | Moderate |
| Q2 2026 | -0.2x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2026 | -0.5x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2025 | -0.3x | Net Cash |
| Q3 2025 | -0.4x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2025 | -0.0x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2025 | 0.3x | Very low |
| Q4 2024 | 0.5x | Very low |
NHC's net debt is about 2.1 years of its operating earnings (EBITDA), after holding more cash than debt a year ago.
NHC Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 50.0 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 15.5 | Oversold |
NHC's weekly RSI is 50 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 15 (oversold).
NHC PE vs Healthcare Sector
| Metric | NHC | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 29x | 26x | 13% above |
| PE % | 73 | 29 | 44 pts above |
NHC is trading at 29x earnings, a 13% premium to the Healthcare sector's median of 26x.
NHC Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $223.3 | 5.6% below |
| 20 week MA | $222.8 | 5.4% below |
| 50 week MA | $188.1 | 12% above |
| 100 week MA | $147.3 | 43% above |
| 200 week MA | $117.5 | 79% above |
NHC has pulled back, but its long-term trend is still up: it's below its 8- and 20-week averages, but 79% above its 200-week average.
NHC Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $85.0 | $66.3 | -22% |
| 2021 | $66.3 | $67.7 | +2.2% |
| 2022 | $67.7 | $61.8 | -8.8% |
| 2023 | $61.8 | $92.4 | +50% |
| 2024 | $92.4 | $109.6 | +19% |
| 2025 | $109.6 | $138.7 | +27% |
| 2026 YTD | $138.7 | $210.8 | +52% |
NHC has finished higher in four of the last six years. It's up 52% so far in 2026.