Amid a turbulent few months for the stock market, The Stoneridge Partners Home Health Index (HH Index), which measures the performance of three major publicly traded home health companies, found the home health market has been doing just fine.
The September 1 update from Stoneridge revealed two of the three measured stocks—all listed on the NASDAQ—for Almost Family (AFAM), LHC Group (LHGC) and Amedisys (AMED) were up at the end of August, despite the S&P 500 dropping 6% during the month, which is also down year-to-date by 4%.
“The news for the month was that LHC Group and Almost Family stock prices were up in August when the stock market collapsed,” Don Cummins, Stoneridge president, told HHCN. “Overall, the last three years have been a good ride for home health.”
The home health index dropped just 1.1% during August, coming off a record high set at the end of July, when the index reached a value of 42.55. The index was scored 42.08 for the end of August. From a year ago, the index is up nearly 70%.
Amedisys saw its stock drop 11.4% at the end of August, though it was still up 84.7% from a year ago. The stock price dropped to $38.64.
Almost Family, a leading provider of home health, nursing, rehabilitation and personal care services, was up slightly in August, rising 1.2% from the previous month. From a year ago, AFAM stock is up 58.3%, hitting a share price of $44.30.
LHC Group saw its stock jump 7.5% in August, according to the index. The $43.30 stock price represents a 68.21% rise from a year ago.
Cummins also noted that acquisitions are near an all-time high, and expects more big acquisitions in the coming months from larger companies.
Written by Amy Baxter
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