At a glance
National Health Investors Inc is worth $3.23B, about 22 times its fiscal 2025 earnings. Revenue grew 12.1% to $375.6M in fiscal 2025, with 37.9% kept as profit; over 5 years it has grown 2.5% a year. It pays a 5.63% dividend yield, and returned $979.1M to shareholders in dividends and buybacks over FY2021–FY2025. The stock returned −8.1% over the past year with dividends reinvested and +9.2% a year over five years, against +11.5% and +11.7% for the S&P 500. At its worst it fell 63.0% in the 2020 crash (S&P 500: 33.7%) and 22.5% in the 2022 bear market (S&P 500: 24.5%), and was back at its earlier high 52 months and 17 months after the lows.
The business in plain English
National Health Investors (NHI) is a real estate investment trust, or REIT. A REIT is a company that owns income-producing property and must pay out most of its taxable income as dividends. NHI was founded in 1991. It owns and finances senior housing, such as assisted and independent living communities, and medical facilities, mostly skilled nursing homes. It has two segments.
Real Estate Investments is the core, bringing in 78.7% of 2025 revenue. As of December 31, 2025, it held 176 properties in 32 states, with a gross book value of $2.7 billion, leased to 31 tenants. They were 110 senior housing properties, 65 skilled nursing facilities and one hospital. Most leases are triple-net, meaning the tenant pays property taxes, insurance and upkeep on top of rent. The segment also earns interest on $218.7 million of loans. Three tenants, Senior Living Communities, Bickford Senior Living and National HealthCare Corporation, produced 36.9% of total revenue.
The Senior Housing Operating Portfolio (SHOP) supplied the other 21.3%. Here NHI owns 26 communities with 3,009 units in 13 states. It keeps the residents' fees and pays outside managers to run the buildings. That means more upside when occupancy rises and more exposure when costs climb. Total revenue was $375.6 million in 2025, up 12.1%.
Price history
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NHI -8.1% over the year to Oct 28, 2026, total return with dividends reinvested.
How it makes money
By business segment
| Investments | $295.6M | 78.7% |
| SHOP | $80.1M | 21.3% |
Latest results
- In Q2 FY2026 (ended Jun 30, 2026), revenue was $121.3M, up 33.8% from a year earlier, and net income was $55.7M (+50.5%).
- For fiscal 2025, revenue was $375.6M (+12.1% year over year; +2.5% a year from FY2020 to FY2025) with a 37.9% net margin.
Financial health check
| Revenue growth a year (FY2020–FY2025) | +2.5% watch |
|---|---|
| Free cash flow margin | -15.3% weak |
| Return on equity (FY2025) | 9.3% watch |
| Return on assets (FY2025) | 5.1% watch |
| Fiscal year | Revenue | Net income | Free cash flow |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2020 | $332.8M | $185.1M | $115.4M |
| FY2021 | $298.7M | $111.8M | $160.5M |
| FY2022 | $278.2M | $66.4M | $174.3M |
| FY2023 | $319.8M | $135.7M | $134.9M |
| FY2024 | $335.2M | $138.0M | $49.8M |
| FY2025 | $375.6M | $142.2M | $-57.5M |
Valuation snapshot
| Market value | $3.23B |
|---|---|
| P/E ratio | 21.7 |
| Dividend yield | 5.63% |
Rank among 1514 US companies
Market value at each year end
National Health Investors’s market value went from $2.96B at the end of 2016 to $3.23B on Oct 28, 2026, up 9%; since the end of 2025 it is down 11%.
Show as a table
| Year end | Market value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Oct 28, 2026 | $3.23B | -11.3% |
| 2025 | $3.64B | +15.6% |
| 2024 | $3.15B | +29.8% |
| 2023 | $2.42B | +7.0% |
| 2022 | $2.27B | -14.0% |
| 2021 | $2.64B | -14.8% |
| 2020 | $3.09B | -13.6% |
| 2019 | $3.58B | +12.3% |
| 2018 | $3.19B | +1.9% |
| 2017 | $3.13B | +5.9% |
| 2016 | $2.96B |
Price behavior
| YTD | 1 yr | 3 yr | 5 yr | 10 yr | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NHI price data to Oct 28, 2026 | -10.7% | -8.1% | +15.7% | +9.2% | +4.6% |
Show as a table
| Year | Price data |
|---|---|
| 2026 (to date) | -10.7% |
| 2025 | +15.7% |
| 2024 | +30.6% |
| 2023 | +14.5% |
| 2022 | -3.2% |
| 2021 | -11.7% |
| 2020 | -8.7% |
| 2019 | +13.6% |
| 2018 | +5.8% |
| 2017 | +6.8% |
| 2016 | +28.0% |
| 2015 | -8.2% |
| 2014 | +31.0% |
| 2013 | +4.6% |
| 2012 | +35.3% |
| 2011 | +3.9% |
| 2010 | +28.8% |
| 2009 | +45.5% |
| 2008 | +6.5% |
| 2007 | -7.2% |
| 2006 | +37.9% |
| 2008 financial crisis stocks fell Oct 9, 2007 – Mar 9, 2009 | Lost 24.7% over that stretch · deepest drop along the way 45.5%, back to its old high 8.4 months after the low |
|---|---|
| 2020 COVID crash stocks fell Feb 19, 2020 – Mar 23, 2020 | Lost 58.5% over that stretch · deepest drop along the way 63%, back to its old high 51.5 months after the low |
| 2022 bear market stocks fell Jan 3, 2022 – Oct 12, 2022 | Lost 7.1% over that stretch · deepest drop along the way 22.5%, back to its old high 17.3 months after the low |
Insider activity
Form 4 filings from 2025-10-31 to 2026-10-31 (25 read): 2 open-market purchases ($167K) and 0 sales ($0.00).
| Date | Insider | Type | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 5, 2026 | D. Eric Mendelsohn CEO and President, Director | buy | $103K |
| Jun 15, 2026 | Robert A Jr Mccabe Director | buy | $64K |
Who owns it
Large shareholders (13G filings)
| BlackRock, Inc. | 17.6% | Jun 30, 2026 |
| Vanguard Portfolio Management | 9.78% | Sep 30, 2026 |
| STATE STREET CORPORATION | 5.6% | Jun 30, 2026 |
| Vanguard Capital Management | 5.11% | Mar 31, 2026 |
ETFs with the most weight in NHI
| BYRE Principal Real Estate Active Opportunities ETF | 2.93% |
| DIV Global X SuperDividend U.S. ETF | 2.31% |
| REAI Intelligent Real Estate ETF | 1.73% |
| OMFS Invesco Russell 2000 Dynamic Multifactor ETF | 0.65% |
| PPTY US Diversified Real Estate ETF | 0.41% |
| BBRE JPMorgan BetaBuilders MSCI US REIT ETF | 0.35% |
| FRI First Trust S&P REIT Index Fund | 0.3% |
| IWN iShares Russell 2000 Value ETF | 0.29% |
What could go wrong
- Three tenants supply over a third of revenue. Senior Living Communities (14.7%), Bickford Senior Living (11.5%) and National HealthCare Corporation (10.7%) produced 36.9% of 2025 revenue. NHI books Bickford's rent only when cash arrives, a method typically used when collection is in doubt.
- A director also chairs a major tenant. One NHI board member is also chairman of National HealthCare Corporation, which supplied 10.7% of 2025 revenue. NHI warns that this director's interests may differ from those of its shareholders.
- Operating communities put more risk on NHI. In its 26 SHOP communities, NHI keeps resident fees but also carries the operating costs. Weak occupancy or higher wages hit its results directly. It also relies on outside managers it may struggle to replace.
- Medicare and Medicaid changes could squeeze tenants. Operators of NHI's 65 leased skilled nursing facilities and its hospitals are paid partly by Medicare and Medicaid. Lower reimbursement rates or new rules could weaken their ability to pay rent.
- Tenant operators face rising costs and occupancy swings. Wages and other operating costs have kept rising. A weak economy or too much new senior housing can cut occupancy. If a property can't cover its rent, NHI's income and dividend could suffer.
- Bankrupt tenants can limit what NHI recovers. A tenant in bankruptcy can reject its lease, and federal bankruptcy law caps NHI's claim for unpaid and future rent. NHI may also have to pay taxes and upkeep while it finds a new operator.
Recent events
- Executive or board change
- Investor presentation or announcement
- Quarterly results released
- Executive or board change
- Major agreement ended; Acquisition or sale of assets completed
- Executive or board change
- Other company announcement
- Shareholder vote results
- Investor presentation or announcement
- Quarterly results released
For income and retirement investors
NHI paid dividends of $3.64 per share for 2025, up from $3.60 in each of the three prior years, so its streak of increases is one year. It paid $4.41 in 2020 and cut the dividend the next year. From 2020 to 2025, dividends per share shrank 3.8% a year. Dividends paid equaled 119.4% of 2025 net income. That is common for REITs, because depreciation, a non-cash cost, lowers reported earnings, but it leaves little cushion. The yield was 5.63% as of October 28, 2026. NHI's only buyback from 2021 through 2025 was $152.0 million in 2022.
The share price has fallen hard in past downturns. It dropped 45.5% in the 2008 financial crisis and recovered in about 8 months. It fell 63% in the 2020 COVID crash and took about 51 months to regain its prior high. It lost 22.5% in the 2022 bear market and needed about 17 months to recover. A single stock like NHI carries more risk than a diversified fund.
Questions investors ask
Does National Health Investors raise its dividend every year?
No. NHI raised its dividend to $3.64 per share in 2025 from $3.60, a level it had held for 2022, 2023 and 2024. Before that it cut the payout: dividends were $4.41 per share in 2020 and about $3.80 in 2021. From 2020 to 2025, dividends per share fell 3.8% a year on average. The streak of increases stood at one year after 2025.
How does National Health Investors make money?
Mostly from rent. Of NHI's $375.6 million in 2025 revenue, 72.3% was rental income. Most of it came from triple-net leases, in which tenants also pay taxes, insurance and upkeep. Another 21.3% came from resident fees at 26 senior housing communities that NHI owns and pays outside managers to run. The remaining 6.4% was interest and other income, largely from loans to operators for construction, renovation, working capital and acquisitions.
What is NHI's dividend yield?
NHI's dividend yield was 5.63% as of October 28, 2026. The yield is the yearly dividend divided by the share price, so it rises when the price falls. NHI paid $3.64 per share for 2025. As a REIT, it must pay out most of its taxable income to keep its tax status. Even so, its annual report warns there is no assurance it can keep paying dividends.
Who are National Health Investors' biggest tenants?
Three tenants generated 36.9% of NHI's 2025 revenue: Senior Living Communities (14.7%), Bickford Senior Living (11.5%) and National HealthCare Corporation (10.7%). NHI books Bickford's rent only when the cash is received, not as it comes due. One NHI director also chairs NHC's board, and NHI warns that this director's interests may differ from shareholders'. Problems at any of these three tenants could noticeably dent NHI's income.
How has NHI stock performed over the long term?
Unevenly. As of October 28, 2026, NHI stock returned an average of 9.2% a year over five years and 4.6% a year over 10 years. It lost 8.1% over one year and 10.7% year to date. Calendar years swung from a 30.6% gain in 2024 to losses in 2020, 2021 and 2022. Its deepest drop was 63%, during the 2020 COVID crash, and it took about 51 months to recover.