In a month marked by the inauguration of President Donald Trump, three of the largest publicly-traded home health care companies saw their market values jump, according to the latest Home Health Index by Stoneridge Partners. The jump mirrors the boost that occurred in other indices across the economy, in a phenomenon that’s been dubbed the “Trump rally.”
The index, which tracks the market values of Almost Family (Nasdaq: AFAM), Amedisys Inc. (Nasdaq: AMED) and LHC Group (Nasdaq: LHCG), rose 7.72% in January from the previous month. The increase outpaced the S&P 500, which rose 1.85% during the month.
“A strong economic rally was underway at the beginning of the year, with home health seeing steady gains,” Stoneridge Partners President Rich Tinsley said in a statement. “With a new administration in place and sweeping health care changes expected to come in the near future, investors were bullish on home health in January.”
LHC Group, based in Lafayette, Louisiana, saw the biggest rally, with its share price soaring 8.88% in January from the previous month. The company’s stock has been trending sharply up as of late, with its value rising 6.58% in December, according to Stoneridge Partners.
The market value for Louisville-based Almost Family, which recently completed a previously-announced joint venture with Community Health Systems Inc. (NYSE: CYH), rose 7.6% in January.
Amedisys also saw significant gains, with its share price rising 6.66%. Despite the ominous triple-six figure, the Baton Rouge-based provider added a new executive to its team in January—David Mikula was named chief development officer.
Another major home care provider, Addus Homecare (Nasdaq: ADUS), saw its share price drop 3.24% in January. Addus is not tracked in the Index because so little of its revenue comes from Medicare. The company, based in Illinois, hired W. Bradley Bickham as chief operating officer last month. At the end of 2016, the company’s stock was up a whopping 55.49%.
Written by Amy Baxter
Companies featured in this article:
Addus HomeCare, Almost Family Inc., Amedisys Inc., LHC Group, Stoneridge Partners
