Select Medical (SEM) Competitors

The Ensign Group (NASDAQ:ENSG) and Select Medical (NYSE:SEM) are both mid-cap medical companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their community ranking, profitability, media sentiment, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, risk, earnings, valuation and dividends.

Which has higher earnings & valuation, ENSG or SEM?

The Ensign Group has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Select Medical. Select Medical is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than The Ensign Group, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
The Ensign Group	$4.26B	1.74	$297.97M	$5.11	25.26
Select Medical	$5.19B	0.40	$243.49M	$1.65	9.87

Does the media favor ENSG or SEM?

In the previous week, The Ensign Group had 7 more articles in the media than Select Medical. MarketBeat recorded 11 mentions for The Ensign Group and 4 mentions for Select Medical. The Ensign Group's average media sentiment score of 1.57 beat Select Medical's score of 1.07 indicating that The Ensign Group is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
The Ensign Group	9 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Very Positive
Select Medical	2 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Does the MarketBeat Community prefer ENSG or SEM?

The Ensign Group received 19 more outperform votes than Select Medical when rated by MarketBeat users. Likewise, 66.18% of users gave The Ensign Group an outperform vote while only 58.09% of users gave Select Medical an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
The Ensign Group	Outperform Votes 360 66.18%	Underperform Votes 184 33.82%
Select Medical	Outperform Votes 341 58.09%	Underperform Votes 246 41.91%

Is ENSG or SEM a better dividend stock?

The Ensign Group pays an annual dividend of $0.25 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.2%. Select Medical pays an annual dividend of $0.25 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.5%. The Ensign Group pays out 4.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Select Medical pays out 15.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. The Ensign Group has increased its dividend for 18 consecutive years.

Do insiders and institutionals hold more shares of ENSG or SEM?

96.1% of The Ensign Group shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 89.5% of Select Medical shares are held by institutional investors. 3.9% of The Ensign Group shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 11.6% of Select Medical shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Is ENSG or SEM more profitable?

The Ensign Group has a net margin of 6.99% compared to Select Medical's net margin of 3.23%. The Ensign Group's return on equity of 17.07% beat Select Medical's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
The Ensign Group	6.99%	17.07%	6.47%
Select Medical	3.23%	14.04%	3.32%

Do analysts rate ENSG or SEM?

The Ensign Group presently has a consensus target price of $165.17, indicating a potential upside of 27.95%. Select Medical has a consensus target price of $27.25, indicating a potential upside of 67.33%. Given Select Medical's higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Select Medical is more favorable than The Ensign Group.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
The Ensign Group	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	5 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.83
Select Medical	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	3 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.75

Which has more risk & volatility, ENSG or SEM?

The Ensign Group has a beta of 0.91, suggesting that its stock price is 9% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Select Medical has a beta of 1.38, suggesting that its stock price is 38% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

The Ensign Group beats Select Medical on 16 of the 21 factors compared between the two stocks.