HCA vs CNC Comparison: AI Score, Valuation, Performance and Upside
Compare HCA's fee-for-service hospital network against Centene's capitated Medicaid and marketplace insurance model.
Use this HCA Healthcare vs Centene comparison to evaluate the key differences across valuation, growth, profitability, and risk before making an investment decision.
CNC holds the edge across 3 of 5 key metrics in this comparison. CNC leads on both 1-year return (+123.02%) and forward P/E quality (12.19x vs 13.01x for HCA), a relatively favorable combination of momentum and valuation. HCA leads on both revenue growth (8.70%) and operating margin (15.16%), suggesting a stronger fundamental setup on both dimensions. Analyst consensus implies similar upside for both: +8.06% for HCA and +10.68% for CNC.
Human Wall Street analysts' price targets, typically implying a ~12-month view — a separate signal from this site's own AI Prediction Signal further down the page, which is a 5-/30-day machine-learning forecast based on price history alone.
| Metric | HCA | CNC |
|---|---|---|
| AI scorei | 52.6 | 46.9 |
| AI ranki | #368 | #669 |
| Latest closei | $405.00 | $67.04 |
| 1M returni | -1.13% | +0.07% |
| 6M returni | -24.22% | +54.93% |
| 1Y returni | -0.64% | +123.02% |
How much would $10,000 be worth today if invested at the start of each period, with all dividends reinvested?
| Period | HCA | CNC |
|---|---|---|
| 1Y ago | $9.84K (-1.6%) started 2025-09-04 | $23.4K (+134.0%) started 2025-09-04 |
| 5Y ago | $17.17K (+71.7%) started 2021-09-07 | $10.51K (+5.1%) started 2021-09-07 |
| 10Y ago | $61.04K (+510.4%) started 2016-09-06 | $20.53K (+105.3%) started 2016-09-06 |
Hypothetical — past performance does not guarantee future results.
| Metric | HCA | CNC |
|---|---|---|
| Market capi | $90.46B | $31.99B |
| Trailing P/Ei | 14.01 | 9.06 |
| Forward P/Ei | 13.01 | 12.19 |
| Price/Salesi | N/A | N/A |
| EV/Revenuei | 1.85 | 0.12 |
| Analyst targeti | $451.48 | $71.67 |
| Target upsidei | +8.06% | +10.68% |
| Metric | HCA | CNC |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue growthi | 8.70% | 4.60% |
| Earnings growthi | 11.60% | 18.30% |
| EPS growthi | +11.60% | +18.30% |
| FCF margini | +4.79% | +5.35% |
| Operating margini | 15.16% | 3.76% |
| Profit margini | 8.77% | -2.83% |
| ROIC proxyi | 13631.68% | -20.36% |
| Return on equityi | 13631.68% | -20.36% |
| Dividend yieldi | 0.75% | N/A |
| Betai | 1.11 | 1.10 |
| Debt/equityi | N/A | 71.08 |
| Current ratioi | 0.99 | 1.15 |
| Quick ratioi | 0.78 | 1.11 |
Over the past year, HCA and CNC have moved barely in the same direction (correlation of 0.05), based on daily returns.
Lower drawdown and smaller single-period drops generally indicate a smoother ride, though they do not guarantee lower future risk.
| Period | Metric | HCA | CNC |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Y | Growthi | -1.60% | +134.00% |
| CAGRi | -1.60% | +134.28% | |
| Volatilityi | 30.70% | 48.75% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | -0.05 | 1.90 | |
| Sortino ratioi | -0.06 | 2.96 | |
| Max drawdowni | 33.72% | 32.73% | |
| Current drawdowni | 25.71% | 2.44% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 12.59% | 6.99% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 16.81% | 10.48% | |
| Max daily dropi | 8.77% | 15.97% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 14.06% | 21.08% | |
| 5Y | Growthi | +66.06% | +5.09% |
| CAGRi | +10.69% | +1.00% | |
| Volatilityi | 29.99% | 40.02% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | 0.34 | 0.13 | |
| Sortino ratioi | 0.47 | 0.17 | |
| Max drawdowni | 39.49% | 74.07% | |
| Current drawdowni | 25.71% | 31.04% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 11.56% | 29.52% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 15.19% | 35.17% | |
| Max daily dropi | 21.82% | 40.37% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 22.87% | 41.59% | |
| 10Y | Growthi | +469.17% | +105.33% |
| CAGRi | +19.01% | +7.46% | |
| Volatilityi | 32.97% | 38.63% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | 0.56 | 0.27 | |
| Sortino ratioi | 0.80 | 0.37 | |
| Max drawdowni | 54.74% | 74.07% | |
| Current drawdowni | 25.71% | 31.04% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 9.95% | 20.81% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 13.80% | 27.24% | |
| Max daily dropi | 21.82% | 40.37% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 39.49% | 41.59% |
| Category | HCA | CNC |
|---|---|---|
| Company | HCA | CNC |
| Sector | Healthcare | Healthcare |
| Industry | Medical Care Facilities | Healthcare Plans |
| Core business | HCA Healthcare, Inc., through its subsidiaries, provides health care services in the United States. | Centene Corporation operates as a managed care company that provides programs and services to under-insured families, and commercial organizations in the United States. |
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