Acadia Healthcare (NASDAQ:ACHC) Issues FY 2026 Earnings Guidance

Acadia Healthcare (NASDAQ:ACHC) updated its FY 2026 earnings guidance on Wednesday. The company provided earnings per share guidance of 1.300-1.550 for the period, compared to the consensus earnings per share estimate of 1.750. The company issued revenue guidance of $3.4 billion-$3.5 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $3.4 billion. Acadia Healthcare also updated its Q1 2026 guidance to 0.250-0.300 EPS.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. KeyCorp decreased their price objective on Acadia Healthcare from $30.00 to $25.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on shares of Acadia Healthcare from $17.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. TD Cowen reiterated a “reduce” rating on shares of Acadia Healthcare in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Leerink Partners reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $22.00 target price on shares of Acadia Healthcare in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Raymond James Financial set a $17.00 price target on shares of Acadia Healthcare in a research note on Wednesday, December 3rd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $19.69.

Acadia Healthcare Stock Up 6.4%

Shares of ACHC traded up $1.34 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $22.18. 1,812,957 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,905,987. The stock has a market cap of $2.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.91, a P/E/G ratio of 4.88 and a beta of 0.89. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $14.48 and a two-hundred day moving average of $18.52. The company has a quick ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. Acadia Healthcare has a twelve month low of $11.43 and a twelve month high of $42.85.

Acadia Healthcare (NASDAQ:ACHC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported $0.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.03 by $0.04. Acadia Healthcare had a net margin of 3.29% and a return on equity of 7.66%. The firm had revenue of $821.46 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $800.10 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.64 earnings per share. Acadia Healthcare’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. Acadia Healthcare has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.300-1.550 EPS and its Q1 2026 guidance at 0.250-0.300 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Acadia Healthcare will post 3.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Key Headlines Impacting Acadia Healthcare

Here are the key news stories impacting Acadia Healthcare this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 revenue beat and volume growth: Acadia reported Q4 revenue of $821.5M, up 6.1% year/year driven by rising admissions and patient days — the topline beat helped spark the rally. Business Wire: Q4 Results
• Positive Sentiment: Q1 guidance well above consensus: Management set Q1 2026 EPS guidance of $0.25–$0.30 versus the prior consensus ~$0.11, signaling stronger near‑term profitability expectations. Press Release / Guidance
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrades and price‑target increases: Royal Bank of Canada bumped its PT to $28 and an Outperform rating; TD Cowen reiterated Buy and raised its PT to $24 — these checks gave investors more confidence. Benzinga: RBC PT Raise TipRanks: TD Cowen Note
• Neutral Sentiment: Earnings call / disclosure: The Q4 earnings call transcript and company materials provide more detail on same‑facility growth and capacity plans for investors digging into execution and margins. Earnings Call Transcript
• Negative Sentiment: FY 2026 EPS guide below Wall Street: Management set FY 2026 EPS at $1.30–$1.55 versus the ~$1.75 consensus, which tempers the longer‑term earnings outlook despite revenue guidance roughly in line. Press Release / FY Guidance
• Negative Sentiment: Profit collapse year/year: EPS was $0.07 and beat expectations by a small amount, but net income fell sharply (reports noted an ~89% decline YoY), highlighting margin pressure and non‑recurring items. Zacks: Earnings Details
• Negative Sentiment: Large short interest increases: Reports show a sizable rise in short interest (about 32.45M shares, ~35.9% of float, ~7.3 days to cover), which raises the risk of added volatility and downward pressure if sentiment shifts.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Acadia Healthcare by 24.9% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 11,774,308 shares of the company’s stock valued at $167,077,000 after acquiring an additional 2,350,760 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Acadia Healthcare by 417.8% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,728,613 shares of the company’s stock worth $67,099,000 after purchasing an additional 3,815,471 shares in the last quarter. UBS Group AG increased its position in shares of Acadia Healthcare by 8.8% during the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 4,336,698 shares of the company’s stock valued at $107,377,000 after purchasing an additional 350,484 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Acadia Healthcare by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,293,951 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,741,000 after purchasing an additional 104,715 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Acadia Healthcare by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,633,192 shares of the company’s stock worth $23,181,000 after buying an additional 7,453 shares in the last quarter.

About Acadia Healthcare

Acadia Healthcare Company, Inc (NASDAQ: ACHC) is a publicly traded provider of behavioral healthcare services headquartered in Franklin, Tennessee. Founded in 2005, the company has grown through organic expansion and strategic acquisitions to establish itself as a leading specialist in mental health and addiction treatment across the United States.

Acadia operates a diversified network of inpatient psychiatric hospitals, residential treatment centers, outpatient clinics and intensive outpatient programs.