Pediatrix Medical Group (NYSE:MD) versus Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) Critical Comparison

Pediatrix Medical Group (NYSE:MD) and Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) are both medical companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, profitability, risk, analyst recommendations, dividends, institutional ownership and valuation.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

97.7% of Pediatrix Medical Group shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 89.2% of Elevance Health shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.8% of Pediatrix Medical Group shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.3% of Elevance Health shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and recommmendations for Pediatrix Medical Group and Elevance Health, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Pediatrix Medical Group	0	5	1	0	2.17
Elevance Health	0	10	13	0	2.57

Pediatrix Medical Group currently has a consensus target price of $22.50, suggesting a potential upside of 0.31%. Elevance Health has a consensus target price of $384.58, suggesting a potential downside of 2.08%. Given Pediatrix Medical Group’s higher possible upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Pediatrix Medical Group is more favorable than Elevance Health.

Profitability

This table compares Pediatrix Medical Group and Elevance Health’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Pediatrix Medical Group	9.02%	19.94%	8.02%
Elevance Health	2.62%	15.58%	5.57%

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Pediatrix Medical Group and Elevance Health”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Pediatrix Medical Group	$1.93 billion	0.95	$165.39 million	$2.06	10.89
Elevance Health	$199.13 billion	0.43	$5.66 billion	$23.51	16.71

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

Risk and Volatility

Pediatrix Medical Group has a beta of 0.7, indicating that its stock price is 30% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Elevance Health has a beta of 0.66, indicating that its stock price is 34% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Pediatrix Medical Group beats Elevance Health on 8 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Pediatrix Medical Group

Pediatrix Medical Group, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides newborn, maternal-fetal, pediatric cardiology, and other pediatric subspecialty care services in the United States. It offers neonatal care services, such as clinical care to babies born prematurely or with complications within specific units at hospitals through neonatal physician subspecialists, neonatal nurse practitioners, and other pediatric clinicians. The company also provides maternal-fetal care services, including inpatient and office-based clinical care to expectant mothers and unborn babies through affiliated maternal-fetal medicine subspecialists, as well as obstetricians and other clinicians, including maternal-fetal nurse practitioners, certified nurse mid-wives, sonographers, and genetic counselors. In addition, it offers pediatric cardiology care services comprising inpatient and office-based pediatric cardiology care of the fetus, infant, child, and adolescent patient with congenital heart defects and acquired heart disease, as well as adults with congenital heart defects through affiliated pediatric cardiologist subspecialists and other related clinical professionals, including pediatric nurse practitioners, echocardiographers, other diagnostic technicians, and exercise physiologists; and specialized cardiac care to the fetus, neonatal and pediatric patients. Further, the company provides other pediatric subspecialty care services, such as pediatric intensivists, pediatric hospitalists, pediatric surgeons, and pediatric ophthalmologists, as well as pediatric ear, nose, and throat physicians, pediatric gastroenterologists; and support services in the areas of hospitals, primarily in the pediatric emergency rooms, labor and delivery areas, and nursery and pediatric departments. The company was formerly known as MEDNAX, Inc. and changed its name to Pediatrix Medical Group, Inc. in July 2022. Pediatrix Medical Group, Inc. was founded in 1979 and is based in Sunrise, Florida.

About Elevance Health

Elevance Health, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as a health benefits company in the United States. The company operates through four segments: Health Benefits, CarelonRx, Carelon Services, and Corporate & Other. It offers a variety of health plans and services to program members; health products; an array of fee-based administrative managed care services; and specialty and other insurance products and services, such as stop loss, dental, vision, life, disability, and supplemental health insurance benefits. The company operates in the pharmacy services business; and markets and offers pharmacy services, including pharmacy benefit management, as well as home delivery and specialty pharmacies, claims adjudication, formulary management, pharmacy networks, rebate administration, a prescription drug database, and member services. In addition, it provides healthcare-related services and capabilities, including utilization management, behavioral health, integrated care delivery, palliative care, payment integrity services, subrogation services, and health and wellness programs, as well as services related to data management, information technology, and business operations. Further, the company is involved in the National Government Services business. The company provides its services under the Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield, Wellpoint, and Carelon brand names. The company was formerly known as Anthem, Inc. and changed its name to Elevance Health, Inc. in June 2022. Elevance Health, Inc. was incorporated in 2001 and is headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana.