Head-To-Head Contrast: Molina Healthcare (NYSE:MOH) versus HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA)

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) and Molina Healthcare (NYSE:MOH) are both large-cap healthcare companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, profitability, dividends, risk, analyst recommendations, earnings and institutional ownership.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares HCA Healthcare and Molina Healthcare”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
HCA Healthcare	$75.60 billion	1.28	$6.78 billion	$30.18	15.33
Molina Healthcare	$45.43 billion	0.24	$472.00 million	($0.96)	-216.53

HCA Healthcare has higher revenue and earnings than Molina Healthcare. Molina Healthcare is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than HCA Healthcare, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for HCA Healthcare and Molina Healthcare, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
HCA Healthcare	1	7	16	0	2.62
Molina Healthcare	2	13	3	0	2.06

HCA Healthcare currently has a consensus target price of $480.13, indicating a potential upside of 3.81%. Molina Healthcare has a consensus target price of $213.88, indicating a potential upside of 2.89%. Given HCA Healthcare’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe HCA Healthcare is more favorable than Molina Healthcare.

Volatility & Risk

HCA Healthcare has a beta of 1.11, meaning that its share price is 11% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Molina Healthcare has a beta of 0.75, meaning that its share price is 25% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares HCA Healthcare and Molina Healthcare’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
HCA Healthcare	8.61%	-198.52%	10.81%
Molina Healthcare	-0.11%	2.50%	0.65%

Institutional & Insider Ownership

62.7% of HCA Healthcare shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 98.5% of Molina Healthcare shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.5% of HCA Healthcare shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 1.4% of Molina Healthcare shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

HCA Healthcare beats Molina Healthcare on 11 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About HCA Healthcare

HCA Healthcare, Inc., through its subsidiaries, owns and operates hospitals and related healthcare entities in the United States. It operates general and acute care hospitals that offers medical and surgical services, including inpatient care, intensive care, cardiac care, diagnostic, and emergency services; and outpatient services, such as outpatient surgery, laboratory, radiology, respiratory therapy, cardiology, and physical therapy. The company also operates outpatient health care facilities consisting of freestanding ambulatory surgery centers, freestanding emergency care facilities, urgent care facilities, walk-in clinics, diagnostic and imaging centers, rehabilitation and physical therapy centers, radiation and oncology therapy centers, physician practices, and various other facilities. In addition, it operates behavioral hospitals, which provide therapeutic programs comprising child, adolescent and adult psychiatric care, adolescent and adult alcohol, drug abuse treatment, and counseling services. The company was formerly known as HCA Holdings, Inc. HCA Healthcare, Inc. was founded in 1968 and is headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee.

About Molina Healthcare

Molina Healthcare, Inc. provides managed healthcare services to low-income families and individuals under the Medicaid and Medicare programs and through the state insurance marketplaces. It operates in four segments: Medicaid, Medicare, Marketplace, and Other. The company served in across 19 states. The company was founded in 1980 and is headquartered in Long Beach, California.