McKesson (NYSE:MCK – Get Free Report) and Astrana Health (NASDAQ:ASTH – Get Free Report) are both healthcare companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, profitability, risk, earnings, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership and valuation.
Risk & Volatility
McKesson has a beta of 0.3, meaning that its share price is 70% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Astrana Health has a beta of 0.9, meaning that its share price is 10% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Earnings & Valuation
This table compares McKesson and Astrana Health”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| McKesson | $403.43 billion | 0.26 | $4.76 billion | $37.37 | 23.75 |
| Astrana Health | $3.84 billion | 0.55 | $22.49 million | $0.82 | 46.49 |
McKesson has higher revenue and earnings than Astrana Health. McKesson is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Astrana Health, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Profitability
This table compares McKesson and Astrana Health’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| McKesson | 1.12% | -253.21% | 5.90% |
| Astrana Health | 1.05% | 10.30% | 3.67% |
Analyst Ratings
This is a breakdown of current ratings and recommmendations for McKesson and Astrana Health, as reported by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| McKesson | 0 | 4 | 14 | 0 | 2.78 |
| Astrana Health | 0 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 2.78 |
McKesson presently has a consensus target price of $973.44, indicating a potential upside of 9.66%. Astrana Health has a consensus target price of $49.43, indicating a potential upside of 29.67%. Given Astrana Health’s higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Astrana Health is more favorable than McKesson.
Insider & Institutional Ownership
85.1% of McKesson shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 52.8% of Astrana Health shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.1% of McKesson shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 20.3% of Astrana Health shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.
Summary
McKesson beats Astrana Health on 7 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.
About McKesson
McKesson Corporation provides healthcare services in the United States and internationally. It operates through four segments: U.S. Pharmaceutical, Prescription Technology Solutions (RxTS), Medical-Surgical Solutions, and International. The U.S. Pharmaceutical segment distributes branded, generic, specialty, biosimilar and over-the-counter pharmaceutical drugs, and other healthcare-related products. This segment also offers practice management, technology, clinical support, and business solutions to community-based oncology and other specialty practices; and consulting, outsourcing, technological, and other services, as well as sells financial, operational, and clinical solutions to pharmacies. The RxTS segment serves biopharma and life sciences partners, and patients to address medication challenges for patients by working across healthcare; connects patients, pharmacies, providers, pharmacy benefit managers, health plans, and biopharma companies to deliver innovative solutions to help people get the medicine needed to live healthier lives; and provides prescription price transparency, benefit insight, dispensing support, third-party logistics, and wholesale distribution support services. The Medical-Surgical Solutions segment offers medical-surgical supply distribution, logistics, and other services to healthcare providers, including physician offices, surgery centers, nursing homes, hospital reference labs, and home health care agencies. The International segment provides distribution and services to wholesale, institutional, and retail customers in Europe and Canada. McKesson Corporation was founded in 1833 and is headquartered in Irving, Texas.
About Astrana Health
Astrana Health, Inc., Inc., a physician-centric technology-powered healthcare management company, provides medical care services in the United States. It operates through three segments: Care Partners, Care Delivery, and Care Enablement. The company is leveraging its proprietary population health management and healthcare delivery platform, operates an integrated, value-based healthcare model which empowers the providers in its network to deliver care to its patients. It offers care coordination services to patients, families, primary care physicians, specialists, acute care hospitals, alternative sites of inpatient care, physician groups, and health plans. The company's physician network consists of primary care physicians, specialist physicians and extenders, and hospitalists. It serves patients, primarily covered by private or public insurance, such as Medicare, Medicaid, and health maintenance organization plans; and non-insured patients. The company was formerly known as Apollo Medical Holdings, Inc. and changed its name to Astrana Health, Inc. in February 2024. Astrana Health, Inc. was incorporated in 1985 and is headquartered in Alhambra, California.
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