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3 Outpatient Home Health Stocks Set to Ride the Industry's Upturn
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The COVID-19 pandemic has been a biological crisis of unprecedented nature that has altered the very nature and dynamics of the healthcare industry. The Zacks Medical - Outpatient and Home Healthcare industry has not only been bearing the brunt of lower outpatient clinic visits but also struggling to provide quality care with respect to home healthcare due to the risk of exposure to the virus. However, rising dependence on telehealth and artificial intelligence (AI) is likely to help the industry thrive in the near term. DaVita Inc. (DVA - Free Report) , Chemed Corporation (CHE - Free Report) and U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. (USPH - Free Report) are likely to gain from the prospects.
Industry Description
The industry comprises companies that provide ambulatory care in an outpatient setting or at home. These companies utilize advanced medical technologies for diagnosis, observation, consultation, treatment and rehabilitation services. The industry participants also include operators of HMO medical centers, kidney dialysis centers, freestanding ambulatory surgical units, emergency centers and other outpatient care centers.
Major Trends Shaping the Future of Outpatient and Home Healthcare Industry
Cost Effectiveness: The primary advantage of the outpatient clinics is cost effectiveness. Outpatient medical care clinics do not retain patients for long hours (overnight) or charge exorbitantly. Notably, modern day outpatient clinics offer a broad spectrum of treatment and diagnostic options, and even minor surgical procedures. Financial incentives like health plans and government program payment policies supporting services in lower-cost care settings have also been driving outpatient care. In fact, this is the primary reason why middle-class Americans, making up more than 62% of the total population, prefer outpatient clinic visits.
Participating in Alternative Payment Models: It only seems reasonable for outpatient clinics to shift from fee-for-service (FFS) to alternative payment models (APM) with shared savings, risk, bundled payments or population-based payments. With value-based models of care steadily emerging as the future of healthcare, this shift is an ongoing parallel trend. FFS will be crucial to care organizations as a benchmark by which providers can assess alternative payment models. By obtaining the payment schedule from payers and comparing it to the organization’s FFS reimbursements from the same payer, providers can ascertain APM that would be financially the most advantageous to its operation.
AI’s Dominant Role: AI has been a roaring success in healthcare. It’s no wonder that it has taken the outpatient and home healthcare space by storm. Outpatient companies prefer bots and automated techniques for managing health information. With the help of AI, hospitals have been achieving better outcomes with patients receiving more efficient and personalized care. The outpatient industry has been generating huge profits from Electronic Health Records, Revenue Cycle Management, eLabs and ePrescriptions. Notably, Quest Diagnostics’ (DGX - Free Report) Quanum solutions unit is an AI platform that streamlines 20 billion laboratory data test results and other health information for population health management and clinical care.
Increased Dependence on Telehealth: The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in decline in outpatient clinic visits. Meanwhile, home healthcare providers have struggled to offer quality care due to risk of exposure to the virus. However, the impact of the pandemic can be far-reaching as it has accelerated healthcare innovation. Visits to outpatient clinics have been witnessing a rebound with the easing of stay-at-home restrictions but patients are still apprehensive about venturing out and are resorting to telehealth. Meanwhile, home healthcare can gain from the benefits provided by Medicare (and several other payers) that comprises a broad range of services, which can be delivered in a patient’s home, including post-operative and chronic wound care, rehabilitation, physical therapy. These services serve as lifelines for vulnerable patients, which include Medicare population that can suffer from complications arising from COVID-19. Moreover, home healthcare has also seen a surge in utilization of the telehealth platform in response to the pandemic.
Zacks Industry Rank
The Zacks Medical - Outpatient and Home Healthcare industry falls within the broader Zacks Medical sector. It carries a Zacks Industry Rank #182, which places it in the bottom 28% of more than 250 Zacks industries.
The group’s Zacks Industry Rank, which is basically the average of the Zacks Rank of all the member stocks, indicates solid near-term prospects. Our research shows that the top 50% of the Zacks-ranked industries outperforms the bottom 50% by a factor of more than 2 to 1.
Before we present a few medical products stocks that you may want to consider for your portfolio, let’s take a look at the industry’s recent stock-market performance and valuation picture.
Industry’s Stock Market Performance
The industry has outperformed its sector in the past year. However, it fell short of the Zacks S&P 500 composite over the same time frame.
The industry has climbed 13.3% over this period compared with the S&P 500 and the broader sector’s rally of 14.9% and 4.8%, respectively.
One Year Price Performance
Industry’s Current Valuation
On the basis of the forward 12-month price-to-earnings (P/E), which is commonly used for valuing medical stocks, the industry is currently trading at 26.94X compared with the S&P 500’s 27.64X and the sector’s 27.18X.
Over the last five years, the industry has traded as high as 26.94X and as low as 15.94X, with the median being at 19.52X, as the charts below show.
Price-to-Earnings Forward Twelve Months (F12M)
Price-to-Earnings Forward Twelve Months (F12M)
3 Promising Outpatient and Home Healthcare Stocks
DaVita Inc.: DaVita is a leading provider of dialysis services in the United States to patients suffering from chronic kidney failure, also known as end stage renal disease (ESRD). It provides outpatient dialysis, hospital inpatient dialysis and ancillary services such as ESRD laboratory and disease management. The company’s strategy of acquiring dialysis centers and businesses that own and operate dialysis centers, and ancillary services continues to drive its top line. As of Jun 30, 2020, the company provided dialysis services to a total of approximately 236,800 patients at 3,082 outpatient dialysis centers, of which 2,795 centers were located in the United States and 287 centers in 10 other countries. The company carries a Zacks Rank of 3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
For this Denver, CO-based company, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2021 revenues suggests growth of 1.9%. The same for earnings indicates an improvement of 10.1%.
Price and Consensus: DVA
Chemed Corporation: Chemed, purchases, operates and divests subsidiaries engaged in diverse business activities. Despite the COVID-19 challenges, the company’s two wholly-owned subsidiaries continue to deliver strong performance, thereby driving top-line growth. The company carries a Zacks Rank of 3.
For this Cincinnati, OH-based company, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2021 revenues indicates an improvement of 3.1%. The same for earnings suggests growth of 0.2%.
Price and Consensus: CHE
U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc.: U.S. Physical Therapy is the largest publicly-traded, pure-play operator of outpatient physical and occupational therapy clinics. The clinics provide pre- and post-operative care for a variety of orthopedic-related disorders and sports-related injuries, rehabilitation of injured workers and preventative care. Increase in telehealth visits and higher net patient revenue per visit rate have been helping the company navigate through the ongoing pandemic. The company carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
For this Houston, TX-based based company, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2021 revenues indicates an improvement of 12.5%. It has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 91.8%, on average.
Price and Consensus: USPH
These Stocks Are Poised to Soar Past the Pandemic
The COVID-19 outbreak has shifted consumer behavior dramatically, and a handful of high-tech companies have stepped up to keep America running. Right now, investors in these companies have a shot at serious profits. For example, Zoom jumped 108.5% in less than 4 months while most other stocks were sinking.
Our research shows that 5 cutting-edge stocks could skyrocket from the exponential increase in demand for “stay at home” technologies. This could be one of the biggest buying opportunities of this decade, especially for those who get in early.
Image: Bigstock
3 Outpatient Home Health Stocks Set to Ride the Industry's Upturn
The COVID-19 pandemic has been a biological crisis of unprecedented nature that has altered the very nature and dynamics of the healthcare industry. The Zacks Medical - Outpatient and Home Healthcare industry has not only been bearing the brunt of lower outpatient clinic visits but also struggling to provide quality care with respect to home healthcare due to the risk of exposure to the virus. However, rising dependence on telehealth and artificial intelligence (AI) is likely to help the industry thrive in the near term. DaVita Inc. (DVA - Free Report) , Chemed Corporation (CHE - Free Report) and U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. (USPH - Free Report) are likely to gain from the prospects.
Industry Description
The industry comprises companies that provide ambulatory care in an outpatient setting or at home. These companies utilize advanced medical technologies for diagnosis, observation, consultation, treatment and rehabilitation services. The industry participants also include operators of HMO medical centers, kidney dialysis centers, freestanding ambulatory surgical units, emergency centers and other outpatient care centers.
Major Trends Shaping the Future of Outpatient and Home Healthcare Industry
Cost Effectiveness: The primary advantage of the outpatient clinics is cost effectiveness. Outpatient medical care clinics do not retain patients for long hours (overnight) or charge exorbitantly. Notably, modern day outpatient clinics offer a broad spectrum of treatment and diagnostic options, and even minor surgical procedures. Financial incentives like health plans and government program payment policies supporting services in lower-cost care settings have also been driving outpatient care. In fact, this is the primary reason why middle-class Americans, making up more than 62% of the total population, prefer outpatient clinic visits.
Participating in Alternative Payment Models: It only seems reasonable for outpatient clinics to shift from fee-for-service (FFS) to alternative payment models (APM) with shared savings, risk, bundled payments or population-based payments. With value-based models of care steadily emerging as the future of healthcare, this shift is an ongoing parallel trend. FFS will be crucial to care organizations as a benchmark by which providers can assess alternative payment models. By obtaining the payment schedule from payers and comparing it to the organization’s FFS reimbursements from the same payer, providers can ascertain APM that would be financially the most advantageous to its operation.
AI’s Dominant Role: AI has been a roaring success in healthcare. It’s no wonder that it has taken the outpatient and home healthcare space by storm. Outpatient companies prefer bots and automated techniques for managing health information. With the help of AI, hospitals have been achieving better outcomes with patients receiving more efficient and personalized care. The outpatient industry has been generating huge profits from Electronic Health Records, Revenue Cycle Management, eLabs and ePrescriptions. Notably, Quest Diagnostics’ (DGX - Free Report) Quanum solutions unit is an AI platform that streamlines 20 billion laboratory data test results and other health information for population health management and clinical care.
Increased Dependence on Telehealth: The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in decline in outpatient clinic visits. Meanwhile, home healthcare providers have struggled to offer quality care due to risk of exposure to the virus. However, the impact of the pandemic can be far-reaching as it has accelerated healthcare innovation. Visits to outpatient clinics have been witnessing a rebound with the easing of stay-at-home restrictions but patients are still apprehensive about venturing out and are resorting to telehealth. Meanwhile, home healthcare can gain from the benefits provided by Medicare (and several other payers) that comprises a broad range of services, which can be delivered in a patient’s home, including post-operative and chronic wound care, rehabilitation, physical therapy. These services serve as lifelines for vulnerable patients, which include Medicare population that can suffer from complications arising from COVID-19. Moreover, home healthcare has also seen a surge in utilization of the telehealth platform in response to the pandemic.
Zacks Industry Rank
The Zacks Medical - Outpatient and Home Healthcare industry falls within the broader Zacks Medical sector. It carries a Zacks Industry Rank #182, which places it in the bottom 28% of more than 250 Zacks industries.
The group’s Zacks Industry Rank, which is basically the average of the Zacks Rank of all the member stocks, indicates solid near-term prospects. Our research shows that the top 50% of the Zacks-ranked industries outperforms the bottom 50% by a factor of more than 2 to 1.
Before we present a few medical products stocks that you may want to consider for your portfolio, let’s take a look at the industry’s recent stock-market performance and valuation picture.
Industry’s Stock Market Performance
The industry has outperformed its sector in the past year. However, it fell short of the Zacks S&P 500 composite over the same time frame.
The industry has climbed 13.3% over this period compared with the S&P 500 and the broader sector’s rally of 14.9% and 4.8%, respectively.
One Year Price Performance
Industry’s Current Valuation
On the basis of the forward 12-month price-to-earnings (P/E), which is commonly used for valuing medical stocks, the industry is currently trading at 26.94X compared with the S&P 500’s 27.64X and the sector’s 27.18X.
Over the last five years, the industry has traded as high as 26.94X and as low as 15.94X, with the median being at 19.52X, as the charts below show.
Price-to-Earnings Forward Twelve Months (F12M)
Price-to-Earnings Forward Twelve Months (F12M)
3 Promising Outpatient and Home Healthcare Stocks
DaVita Inc.: DaVita is a leading provider of dialysis services in the United States to patients suffering from chronic kidney failure, also known as end stage renal disease (ESRD). It provides outpatient dialysis, hospital inpatient dialysis and ancillary services such as ESRD laboratory and disease management. The company’s strategy of acquiring dialysis centers and businesses that own and operate dialysis centers, and ancillary services continues to drive its top line. As of Jun 30, 2020, the company provided dialysis services to a total of approximately 236,800 patients at 3,082 outpatient dialysis centers, of which 2,795 centers were located in the United States and 287 centers in 10 other countries. The company carries a Zacks Rank of 3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
For this Denver, CO-based company, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2021 revenues suggests growth of 1.9%. The same for earnings indicates an improvement of 10.1%.
Price and Consensus: DVA
Chemed Corporation: Chemed, purchases, operates and divests subsidiaries engaged in diverse business activities. Despite the COVID-19 challenges, the company’s two wholly-owned subsidiaries continue to deliver strong performance, thereby driving top-line growth. The company carries a Zacks Rank of 3.
For this Cincinnati, OH-based company, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2021 revenues indicates an improvement of 3.1%. The same for earnings suggests growth of 0.2%.
Price and Consensus: CHE
U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc.: U.S. Physical Therapy is the largest publicly-traded, pure-play operator of outpatient physical and occupational therapy clinics. The clinics provide pre- and post-operative care for a variety of orthopedic-related disorders and sports-related injuries, rehabilitation of injured workers and preventative care. Increase in telehealth visits and higher net patient revenue per visit rate have been helping the company navigate through the ongoing pandemic. The company carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
For this Houston, TX-based based company, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2021 revenues indicates an improvement of 12.5%. It has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 91.8%, on average.
Price and Consensus: USPH
These Stocks Are Poised to Soar Past the Pandemic
The COVID-19 outbreak has shifted consumer behavior dramatically, and a handful of high-tech companies have stepped up to keep America running. Right now, investors in these companies have a shot at serious profits. For example, Zoom jumped 108.5% in less than 4 months while most other stocks were sinking.
Our research shows that 5 cutting-edge stocks could skyrocket from the exponential increase in demand for “stay at home” technologies. This could be one of the biggest buying opportunities of this decade, especially for those who get in early.
See the 5 high-tech stocks now>>