Sifting through countless of stocks in the Health Care Providers & Services industry can be tedious, and sometimes two stocks are just too similar to judge which is the better investment. If you’re on the fence about investing in Acadia Healthcare Company, Inc., Universal Health Services or Inc. because you’re not sure how they measure up, it’s important to compare them on a few factors before making your decision.

Read on to learn how Acadia Healthcare Company, Inc., Universal Health Services and Inc. compare based on key financial metrics to determine which better meets your investment needs.

About Acadia Healthcare Company, Inc., Universal Health Services and Inc.

Acadia Healthcare Company, Inc. provides behavioral healthcare services in the United States and Puerto Rico. The company develops and operates acute inpatient psychiatric facilities; specialty treatment facilities comprising residential recovery facilities and eating disorder facilities; comprehensive treatment centers; and residential treatment centers, as well as facilities providing outpatient behavioral healthcare services for the behavioral healthcare and recovery needs of communities. Acadia Healthcare Company, Inc. was founded in 2005 and is headquartered in Franklin, Tennessee.

Universal Health Services, Inc., through its subsidiaries, owns and operates acute care hospitals, and outpatient and behavioral health care facilities. It operates through Acute Care Hospital Services and Behavioral Health Care Services segments. The company’s hospitals offer general and specialty surgery, internal medicine, obstetrics, emergency room care, radiology, oncology, diagnostic and coronary care, pediatric, pharmacy, and/or behavioral health services. It also provides commercial health insurance services; and various management services, including central purchasing, information services, finance and control systems, facilities planning, physician recruitment, administrative personnel management, marketing, and public relations services. The company was founded in 1978 and is headquartered in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania.

Latest Health Care Providers & Services and Acadia Healthcare Company, Inc., Universal Health Services, Inc. Stock News

As of November 26, 2025, Acadia Healthcare Company, Inc. had a $1.6 billion market capitalization, compared to the Health Care Providers & Services median of $1.2 million. Acadia Healthcare Company, Inc.’s stock is down 56.8% in 2025, up 19.4% in the previous five trading days and down 55.14% in the past year.

Currently, Acadia Healthcare Company, Inc.’s price-earnings ratio is 14.5. Acadia Healthcare Company, Inc.’s trailing 12-month revenue is $3.3 billion with a 3.3% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 4.4%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $2.349 per share for the current fiscal year. Acadia Healthcare Company, Inc. does not currently pay a dividend.

As of November 26, 2025, Universal Health Services, Inc. had a $15.3 billion market cap, putting it in the 84th percentile of all stocks. Universal Health Services, Inc.’s stock is up 35.7% in 2025, up 8.1% in the previous five trading days and up 23.36% in the past year.

Currently, Universal Health Services, Inc.’s price-earnings ratio is 11.6. Universal Health Services, Inc.’s trailing 12-month revenue is $17.0 billion with a 8.1% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 13.4%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $21.658 per share for the current fiscal year. Universal Health Services, Inc. currently has a 0.3% dividend yield.

How We Compare Acadia Healthcare Company, Inc., Universal Health Services and Inc. Stock Grades

Stock evaluation requires access to huge amounts of data and the knowledge and time to sift through it all, make sense of financial ratios, read income statements and analyze recent stock movements. AAII created A+ Investor, a robust data suite that condenses data research in an actionable and customizable way suitable for investors of all knowledge levels, to help investors streamline and work through such data.

AAII’s proprietary stock grades come with A+ Investor. These offer intuitive A‐F grades for each of five key investing factors: value, growth, momentum, earnings estimate revisions and quality. Here, we’ll take a closer look at Acadia Healthcare Company, Inc., Universal Health Services and Inc.’s stock grades to see how they measure up against one another.

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Acadia Healthcare Company, Inc., Universal Health Services and Inc. Growth Grades

Company	Ticker	Growth
Acadia Healthcare Company, Inc.	ACHC	A
Universal Health Services, Inc.	UHS	A

The foundation of growth investing is seeking out stocks of companies exhibiting strong, consistent and prolonged growth that is expected to continue into the future.

In order to compute the growth score and assign it a letter grade, the percentile ranks for each of three components‐consistency of annual sales growth, five-year sales growth rankings adjusted for extreme levels, and consistency of positive annual cash from operations‐must be determined. These three rank figures are added together, and the sum is ranked against the entire stock universe to arrive at a company’s Growth Score to create an equal distribution of grades.

The companies in the bottom 20% of the stock universe receive Growth Grades of F, considered to be very weak, while those in the top 20% receive A grades, which are considered very strong.

Acadia Healthcare Company, Inc. has a Growth Score of 92, which is Very Strong. Universal Health Services, Inc. has a Growth Score of 100, which is Very Strong.

The Growth Grade Winner: It’s a Tie!

Looking at the Growth Grade breakdown above, both Acadia Healthcare Company, Inc., Universal Health Services and Inc. have a grade of A. For investors who focus solely on a company’s upward growth, further research should be conducted into both companies’ other financial metrics before deciding whether to invest.

Acadia Healthcare Company, Inc., Universal Health Services and Inc.’s Quality Grades

Company	Ticker	Quality
Acadia Healthcare Company, Inc.	ACHC	C
Universal Health Services, Inc.	UHS	A

Like the Value Grade, AAII’s A+ Investor Quality Grade comes from the percentile rank of key metrics. Specifically, the Quality Score is the percentile rank of the average of the percentile ranks of return on assets (ROA), return on invested capital (ROIC), gross profit relative to assets, buyback yield, change in total liabilities to assets, accruals, Z double prime bankruptcy risk (Z) score and the F-Score.

The score is variable, meaning it can consider all eight measures or, should any of the eight measures not be valid, the remaining measures that are valid. To be assigned a Quality Score, stocks must have a valid (non-null) measure and corresponding ranking for at least four of the eight quality measures.

The Quality Score is used to assess the underlying “quality” of a particular stock. A higher-quality stock possesses traits associated with upside potential and reduced downside risk. Backtesting of the Quality Grade shows that stocks with higher grades, on average, outperformed stocks with lower grades over the period of 1998 through 2019.

Stocks receive better grades (higher scores) for having higher scores for the quality subcomponents and worse grades (lower scores) for lower scores for the subcomponents.

Acadia Healthcare Company, Inc. has a Quality Score of 55, which is Average. Universal Health Services, Inc. has a Quality Score of 95, which is Very Strong.

The Quality Grade Winner: Universal Health Services, Inc.

As you can clearly see from the Quality Grade breakdown above, Universal Health Services, Inc. has a better overall quality grade than Acadia Healthcare Company, Inc.. For investors who are looking for companies with higher quality than others in the same industry, Universal Health Services, Inc. could be a good stock to add to their portfolios. However, it’s important for investors to analyze multiple factors based on a wide range of metrics before deciding whether to buy.

Acadia Healthcare Company, Inc., Universal Health Services and Inc.’s Momentum Grades

Company	Ticker	Momentum
Acadia Healthcare Company, Inc.	ACHC	F
Universal Health Services, Inc.	UHS	B

Momentum grades help to uncover stocks experiencing anomalously high rates of return; research finds that stocks with high relative levels of momentum tend to outperform, whereas those with low levels of momentum tend to continue underperforming. Momentum is based on the price change of a stock over a specified period relative to all other stocks.

Typically, AAII looks at the weighted relative strength over the trailing four quarters. The weighted four-quarter relative strength rank is the relative price change for each of the past four quarters. The most recent quarterly price change is given a weight of 40% and each of the three previous quarters are given a weighting of 20%.

Acadia Healthcare Company, Inc. has a Momentum Score of 8, which is Very Weak. Universal Health Services, Inc. has a Momentum Score of 80, which is Strong.

The Momentum Grade Winner: Universal Health Services, Inc.

As you can clearly see from the Momentum Grade breakdown above, Universal Health Services, Inc. is considered to have stronger momentum compared to Acadia Healthcare Company, Inc.. For those specifically looking for companies that have stronger momentum compared to other companies in the same industry, Universal Health Services, Inc. could be a good stock to invest in. However, it’s important for investors to analyze multiple factors based on a wide range of metrics before deciding whether to buy.

Other Acadia Healthcare Company, Inc., Universal Health Services and Inc. Grades

In addition to Growth, Quality and Momentum, A+ Investor also provides grades for Value and Estimate Revisions.

Earnings estimate revisions scores take into account the magnitude of a company’s earnings surprise in its last two reported fiscal quarters. Often, surprises beget further surprises‐or at least continued sales growth (the exact opposite is generally true, too).

Successful stock investing involves buying low and selling high, so stock valuation is an important consideration for stock selection. Buying stocks that are going to go up typically means buying stocks that are undervalued in the first place, although momentum investors may argue that point.

These 2 key factors, when combined with the above, provide a holistic view into a particular stock. Further, by joining A+ Investor you can see whether Acadia Healthcare Company, Inc., Universal Health Services and Inc. pass any of our 60+ stock screens that have outperformed the market since their creation.

So, Which Is the Better Investment, Acadia Healthcare Company, Inc., Universal Health Services or Inc. Stock?

Overall, Acadia Healthcare Company, Inc. stock has a Growth Score of 92, Momentum Score of 8 and Quality Score of 55.

Universal Health Services, Inc. stock has a Growth Score of 100, Momentum Score of 80 and Quality Score of 95.

Comparing Acadia Healthcare Company, Inc., Universal Health Services and Inc.’s grades, scores and metrics can act as a solid basis to determine whether they may be a good investment or not. You’ll also want to look at your portfolio’s asset allocation as well as your risk tolerance and financial goals to see if either of these stocks would make a good fit for you. AAII can help you figure out which investments align with your individual needs and preferences.

Investors are encouraged to do their own due diligence and research. In this way, individuals can effectively become managers of their own assets‐without having to rely on others for financial independence. You can count on AAII for timeless articles on financial planning and stock-picking, unbiased research and actionable analysis.

A+ Investor adds to our qualitative teaching with a powerful data suite to help you whittle down investment choices to find stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) or mutual funds that meet your needs.

AAII Disclaimer

We make no representations or warranties that any investor will, or is likely to, achieve profits similar to those shown, because past, hypothetical or simulated performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. Before making an investment decision, you should consider your circumstances and whether the information on our content is applicable to your situation. This information was prepared in good faith, and we accept no liability for any errors or omissions. The full disclaimer can be read here.