Analyzing Pediatrix Medical Group (NYSE:MD) and Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH)

Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH) and Pediatrix Medical Group (NYSE:MD) are both healthcare companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, valuation, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, dividends, earnings and profitability.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings for Cardinal Health and Pediatrix Medical Group, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Cardinal Health	0	3	16	0	2.84
Pediatrix Medical Group	0	5	1	0	2.17

Cardinal Health currently has a consensus price target of $269.38, suggesting a potential upside of 7.98%. Pediatrix Medical Group has a consensus price target of $26.60, suggesting a potential downside of 9.26%. Given Cardinal Health’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Cardinal Health is more favorable than Pediatrix Medical Group.

Profitability

This table compares Cardinal Health and Pediatrix Medical Group’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Cardinal Health	0.67%	-98.53%	4.69%
Pediatrix Medical Group	8.96%	20.05%	8.15%

Risk & Volatility

Cardinal Health has a beta of 0.5, meaning that its share price is 50% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Pediatrix Medical Group has a beta of 0.61, meaning that its share price is 39% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Cardinal Health and Pediatrix Medical Group”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Cardinal Health	$254.25 billion	0.23	$1.71 billion	$7.23	34.50
Pediatrix Medical Group	$1.91 billion	1.24	$165.39 million	$2.09	14.03

Cardinal Health has higher revenue and earnings than Pediatrix Medical Group. Pediatrix Medical Group is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Cardinal Health, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

87.2% of Cardinal Health shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 97.7% of Pediatrix Medical Group shares are held by institutional investors. 0.1% of Cardinal Health shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 1.8% of Pediatrix Medical Group shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

About Cardinal Health

Cardinal Health, Inc. operates as a healthcare services and products company in the United States, Canada, Europe, Asia, and internationally. It provides customized solutions for hospitals, healthcare systems, pharmacies, ambulatory surgery centers, clinical laboratories, physician offices, and patients in the home. The company operates in two segments, Pharmaceutical and Medical. The Pharmaceutical segment distributes branded and generic pharmaceutical, specialty pharmaceutical, and over-the-counter healthcare and consumer products. The segment also provides services to pharmaceutical manufacturers and healthcare providers for specialty pharmaceutical products; operates nuclear pharmacies and radiopharmaceutical manufacturing facilities; repackages generic pharmaceuticals and over-the-counter healthcare products; and provides pharmacy management services to hospitals. The Medical segment manufactures, sources, and distributes Cardinal Health branded medical, surgical, and laboratory products and devices that include exam and surgical gloves; needles, syringe, and sharps disposals; compressions; incontinences; nutritional delivery products; wound care products; single-use surgical drapes, gowns, and apparels; fluid suction and collection systems; urology products; operating room supply products; and electrode product lines. The segment also distributes a range of national brand products, including medical, surgical, and laboratory products; provides supply chain services and solutions to hospitals, ambulatory surgery centers, clinical laboratories, and other healthcare providers; and assembles and sells sterile, and non-sterile procedure kits. The company was incorporated in 1979 and is headquartered in Dublin, Ohio.

About Pediatrix Medical Group

Pediatrix Medical Group, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides newborn, maternal-fetal, pediatric cardiology, and other pediatric subspecialty care services in the United States. It offers neonatal care services, such as clinical care to babies born prematurely or with complications within specific units at hospitals through neonatal physician subspecialists, neonatal nurse practitioners, and other pediatric clinicians. The company also provides maternal-fetal care services, including inpatient and office-based clinical care to expectant mothers and unborn babies through affiliated maternal-fetal medicine subspecialists, as well as obstetricians and other clinicians, including maternal-fetal nurse practitioners, certified nurse mid-wives, sonographers, and genetic counselors. In addition, it offers pediatric cardiology care services comprising inpatient and office-based pediatric cardiology care of the fetus, infant, child, and adolescent patient with congenital heart defects and acquired heart disease, as well as adults with congenital heart defects through affiliated pediatric cardiologist subspecialists and other related clinical professionals, including pediatric nurse practitioners, echocardiographers, other diagnostic technicians, and exercise physiologists; and specialized cardiac care to the fetus, neonatal and pediatric patients. Further, the company provides other pediatric subspecialty care services, such as pediatric intensivists, pediatric hospitalists, pediatric surgeons, and pediatric ophthalmologists, as well as pediatric ear, nose, and throat physicians, pediatric gastroenterologists; and support services in the areas of hospitals, primarily in the pediatric emergency rooms, labor and delivery areas, and nursery and pediatric departments. The company was formerly known as MEDNAX, Inc. and changed its name to Pediatrix Medical Group, Inc. in July 2022. Pediatrix Medical Group, Inc. was founded in 1979 and is based in Sunrise, Florida.