One-glance verdict
Within fair range
$53.07 our estimate vs market $67.04
Wall Street consensus: $78.50 (47.9% higher than our fair-value estimate)
26% above our estimate
Fundamentals snapshot
National Health Investors, Inc.
NHI · NYQ · Real Estate · REIT - Healthcare Facilities
Current price
$67.04
52-week range
$63.51 - $91.38
Market cap
$3.29B
Balance sheet
Stretched
3.53x Stretched
Net debt $1.25B. Interest coverage shows how many times profit covers the interest bill.
What stands out
3 Rewards
3 Risks
3 rewards · 3 risks
- Reward Revenue grew 15.0% last year.
- Reward Returns 10.7% on equity, ahead of 50% of its peers.
- Risk Operating margin compressed from 47.7% to 41.1% over 3 years.
- Risk Forward P/E (19.4x) is higher than trailing (19.4x) - earnings are expected to drop.
What this company does
National Health Investors, Inc.
National Health Investors (NHI) is a company that owns and rents out buildings like senior living communities and hospitals. Most of their money comes from the rent these places generate, which is like a steady stream of income (recurring revenue). This is important because it shows they have a reliable way of making money from their properties.
How the company got here
National Health Investors, Inc. (NHI) was established in 1991 as a self-managed real estate investment trust (REIT). A REIT is a company that owns, operates, or finances income-producing real estate. NHI focuses on senior housing communities and medical facilities. Over the years, the company has grown by acquiring and financing a portfolio of properties that cater to the healthcare needs of an aging population. Key to its strategy has been the ability to provide real estate capital to operators in the senior care and medical sectors, enabling them to expand or maintain their facilities.
What it actually does
NHI essentially owns and leases out buildings that are used for senior living and healthcare services. Think of them as a landlord for specialized properties like assisted living facilities, skilled nursing homes, and medical office buildings. They make money by collecting rent from the companies that operate these facilities. NHI also provides financing, like mortgages, to these operators, earning interest on those loans. Their business is tied to the demand for senior care and medical services, which is influenced by demographic trends like an aging population.
Real Estate Investments
This is NHI's largest business segment, meaning it brings in the most money for the company. It includes a wide variety of properties such as independent living facilities (where seniors live independently but have access to some services), assisted living facilities (for those needing help with daily tasks), entrance fee communities (where residents pay a large upfront fee), senior living campuses, skilled nursing facilities (for long-term medical care), and even hospitals. NHI earns revenue from these properties primarily through rental income from the operators who run these facilities, as well as interest from mortgages and other loans they provide to these operators.
Senior Housing Operating Portfolio (SHOP)
The SHOP segment is a growing part of NHI's business. In this segment, NHI not only owns the properties but also has a more direct involvement in their operations, often through joint ventures or by managing the facilities. This segment also includes independent living facilities. Revenue in this segment can come from rental income, but also from resident fees and services provided at the facilities, giving NHI a closer connection to the day-to-day business of senior housing.
What management is betting on now
NHI's management is focused on expanding its Senior Housing Operating Portfolio (SHOP) segment, aiming to increase its presence and operational expertise in this area. They are also prioritizing disciplined capital allocation, which means being very careful and strategic about where they invest money to ensure the best returns. The company is actively looking for new investment opportunities, with a significant pipeline of potential deals, indicating a strategy of growth through acquisitions and strategic investments in senior housing and medical facilities.
Price history
How the share price has moved
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Earnings history
Last 8 quarters — what happened
Click any quarter to read the call summary and what the numbers say.
FY2024 Q3
$1.54M
FY2024 Q4
$-75.54M
FY2025 Q1
$-38.69M
FY2025 Q3
$-3.03M
FY2025 Q4
$-128.56M
FY2026 Q1
$-55.98M
Revenue
$121.32M
Net income
$55.67M
Diluted EPS
1.15
Operating cash flow
$64.97M
Free cash flow
—
Fetching…
Sources
Revenue
$115.13M
Net income
$40.10M
Diluted EPS
0.82
Operating cash flow
$53.44M
Free cash flow
$-55.98M
Fetching…
Sources
Revenue
$105.82M
Net income
$38.16M
Diluted EPS
0.80
Operating cash flow
$67.74M
Free cash flow
$-128.56M
Fetching…
Sources
Revenue
$89.85M
Net income
$32.86M
Diluted EPS
0.69
Operating cash flow
$62.53M
Free cash flow
$-3.03M
Fetching…
Sources
Revenue
$90.66M
Net income
$36.99M
Diluted EPS
0.79
Operating cash flow
$59.82M
Free cash flow
—
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Sources
Revenue
$89.30M
Net income
$34.16M
Diluted EPS
0.74
Operating cash flow
$46.48M
Free cash flow
$-38.69M
Fetching…
Sources
Revenue
$85.75M
Net income
$43.24M
Diluted EPS
0.96
Operating cash flow
$57.57M
Free cash flow
$-75.54M
Fetching…
Sources
Revenue
$82.94M
Net income
$28.54M
Diluted EPS
0.65
Operating cash flow
$48.63M
Free cash flow
$1.54M
Fetching…
Sources
Is it cheap or expensive?
Fair value $53.07 vs current price $67.04
Wall Street consensus is the average analyst price target: $78.50 (47.9% higher than our fair-value estimate).
Our most-likely fair value is $53.07 a share — about 20.8% away from today's price of $67.04, so the stock currently looks fairly priced.
Is it drowning in debt?
Stretched
Net debt $1.2B. Interest coverage 3.5x.
Net debt
$1.25B
Interest coverage
3.53x
National Health Investors, Inc.'s profit covers its interest bill about 3.5 times over. which is stronger than most peers shown here.
Stretched
Worse cushion
Baseline
Better cushion
NHI
BASELINE
National Health Investors, Inc.
Total debt $1.28B Interest coverage 3.53x This is the baseline the peer rows are being compared against.
Total debt $2.63B Interest coverage 2.35x -34% vs NHI Carries about 1.5x less debt cushion than NHI.
Total debt $1.21B Interest coverage 4.91x +39% vs NHI Carries about 1.4x more debt cushion than NHI.
Total debt $779.49M Interest coverage 3.53x -0% vs NHI Has roughly the same debt cushion as NHI.
Total debt $4.03B Interest coverage 3.46x -2% vs NHI Has roughly the same debt cushion as NHI.
Total debt $10.32B Interest coverage 1.78x -50% vs NHI Carries about 2.0x less debt cushion than NHI.
What you should know
The case for and against NHI
3 Rewards
3 Risks
Rewards
-
Revenue grew 15.0% last year.
-
Returns 10.7% on equity, ahead of 50% of its peers.
-
Free cash flow was positive in 8/10 years.
Risks
-
Operating margin compressed from 47.7% to 41.1% over 3 years.
-
Forward P/E (19.4x) is higher than trailing (19.4x) - earnings are expected to drop.
-
Net debt grew 1.4% over 3 years.
The numbers
All the key metrics, grouped by purpose
Tap any ? icon to learn what it means.
Valuation
How expensive the stock looks
P/E (TTM)
19.38x
Forward P/E
19.43x
P/B
2.10x
P/S
7.56x
EV/EBITDA
15.73x
PEG ratio
4.76x
Profitability
How much profit each dollar creates
Gross margin
73.9%
Operating margin
41.1%
Net margin
38.3%
ROE
10.7%
ROA
4.4%
Health
Liquidity and balance-sheet strength
Debt / equity
0.80x
Current ratio
1.82x
Quick ratio
1.20x
Total debt
$1.28B
Total cash
$30.39M
Growth
How the business has been compounding
Revenue TTM
$432.12M
Revenue 5Y CAGR
5.9%
EPS TTM
3.46
EPS 5Y CAGR
26.8%
Cash flow
How much cash the business throws off
Operating CF TTM
$248.68M
Free CF TTM
$-57.47M
FCF margin
-13.3%
Dividend
Shareholder payout
Yield
5.6%
Payout ratio
106.4%
Last ex-div date
2026-09-30