Reviewing PACS Group (NYSE:PACS) & LifeStance Health Group (NASDAQ:LFST)

PACS Group (NYSE:PACS) and LifeStance Health Group (NASDAQ:LFST) are both mid-cap healthcare companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, institutional ownership, risk, valuation, earnings, profitability and analyst recommendations.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

85.5% of LifeStance Health Group shares are held by institutional investors. 70.1% of PACS Group shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 3.5% of LifeStance Health Group shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares PACS Group and LifeStance Health Group”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
PACS Group	$5.29 billion	1.23	$191.54 million	$1.72	23.85
LifeStance Health Group	$1.42 billion	3.20	$9.66 million	$0.13	91.62

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

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and target prices for PACS Group and LifeStance Health Group, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
PACS Group	0	2	5	0	2.71
LifeStance Health Group	0	4	6	1	2.73

PACS Group presently has a consensus target price of $58.80, suggesting a potential upside of 43.33%. LifeStance Health Group has a consensus target price of $12.88, suggesting a potential upside of 8.10%. Given PACS Group’s higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe PACS Group is more favorable than LifeStance Health Group.

Risk and Volatility

PACS Group has a beta of -0.07, meaning that its share price is 107% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, LifeStance Health Group has a beta of 1.24, meaning that its share price is 24% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares PACS Group and LifeStance Health Group’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
PACS Group	4.85%	29.55%	5.23%
LifeStance Health Group	3.19%	3.39%	2.33%

Summary

PACS Group beats LifeStance Health Group on 8 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About PACS Group

PACS Group, Inc., through its subsidiaries, operates skilled nursing facilities and assisted living facilities in the United States. The company also provides senior care and independent facilities. It engages in the acquisition, ownership, and leasing of health care-related properties. The company was founded in 2013 and is based in Farmington, Utah.

About LifeStance Health Group

LifeStance Health Group, Inc., through its subsidiaries, provides outpatient mental health services to children, adolescents, adults, and geriatrics in the United States. The company offers patients a suite of mental health services, including psychiatric evaluations and treatment, psychological, and neuropsychological testing, as well as individual, family, and group therapy. It treats a range of mental health conditions, including anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder, eating disorders, psychotic disorders, and post-traumatic stress disorder. In addition, the company operates an outpatient mental health platform, as well as offers patient care virtually through its online delivery platform or in-person at its centers. LifeStance Health Group, Inc. was founded in 2017 and is headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona.