Start here if you're new
what it is
NRC sells hospitals and insurers the surveys, benchmarks, and analytics they use to track patient and employee experience.
how it gets paid
Last year National Research made $137M in revenue. Patient experience measurement was the main engine at $55M, or 40% of sales.
why growth slowed
Revenue fell 4.0% last year. EDGAR shows the latest quarter surged to $102M of revenue.
what just happened
Revenue hit $102M and EPS reached $0.43, but the bigger story is that full-year 2024 EPS still fell to $1.04 from $1.25.
At a glance
B balance sheet — gets the job done, barely
80/100 earnings predictability — you can trust these numbers
29.2x trailing p/e — priced about right
3.9% dividend yield — cash in your pocket every quarter
29.2% return on capital — every dollar works hard here
xvary composite: 48/100 — below average
What they do
NRC sells hospitals and insurers the surveys, benchmarks, and analytics they use to track patient and employee experience.
Hospitals do not swap out patient-experience systems for fun. NRC runs measurement across patients, employees, communities, and physicians, and it does that with just 368 employees while posting a 16.4% operating margin and 29.2% return on capital. If your surveys, benchmarks, and brand tracking all sit in one system, leaving means retraining staff, rebuilding history, and explaining the mess to management.
How they make money
$137M
annual revenue · their business grew -4.0% last year
Patient experience measurement
$55M
Workforce engagement
$25M
Market insights and brand tracking
$22M
Population health risk analytics
$20M
Physician engagement
$15M
The products that matter
patient and employee feedback analytics
Healthcare Experience Analytics
$137.4M · entire business
It is the whole company: $137.4M in trailing revenue, down 5% from last year, with no diversification to soften a bad stretch.
100% of revenue
Key numbers
29.2%
return on capital
Return on capital → profit generated on invested money → so what: NRC earns far more on each dollar invested than most small companies.
16.4%
operating margin
Operating margin → profit after running the business → so what: NRC keeps about 16 cents from each sales dollar before interest and taxes.
$76M
long-term debt
Long-term debt → money owed over years → so what: the balance sheet is fine, but debt still equals more than half a year of revenue.
3.9%
dividend yield
Dividend yield → cash paid to shareholders each year relative to price → so what: you get paid to wait, but only if the business holds up.
Financial health
B
strength
- balance sheet grade B — adequate — nothing special
- risk rank 4 — safer than 20% of stocks
- price stability 40 / 100
- long-term debt $76M (17% of capital)
B — functional but not a standout on the balance sheet.
Total return vs. market
Return history isn't available for NRC right now.
source: institutional data · return history unavailable
What just happened
beat estimates
Revenue hit $102M and EPS reached $0.43, but the bigger story is that full-year 2024 EPS still fell to $1.04 from $1.25.
EDGAR shows the latest quarter surged to $102M of revenue, up 195% vs. prior year, with EPS up 139% to $0.43. That looks great in isolation. The deadpan part: still shows full-year 2024 EPS at $1.04, down 16.8% from 2023's $1.25.
$102M
revenue
$0.43
eps
16.4%
operating margin
the number that mattered
The number that mattered was $1.04 in full-year 2024 EPS, because a business trading at 29.2x earnings needs growth, not a drop from $1.25.
source: EDGAR and quarterly figures provided, 2026
Get this snapshot in your inbox
This page, delivered free — plus weekly updates when the numbers change. plain english, no spam.
weekly updates
earnings alerts
plain english
no spam
What could go wrong
nrc's problem is specific: management is trying to fund a 3.9% dividend and a $60M buyback while the core business just shrank to $137.4M in revenue.
high
Revenue contraction becomes the normal state
Revenue fell 5% last year and the three-year growth rate is just 0.5%. If that pattern sticks, this is not a recovery story. It is a shrinking niche with shareholder payouts attached.
A business stuck near $137M in revenue has less room to support both buybacks and a 3.9% dividend.
high
Dividend coverage stays thin
Annual dividend cost is $11.6M. Net income was also $11.6M. That is effectively full earnings payout, which leaves almost no cushion if margins slip again.
Any further profit decline puts the payout under pressure and removes one of the stock's main attractions.
med
The buyback flatters EPS more than the business deserves
The $60M authorization is large for a $376M company. That can lift per-share math even if the underlying business stays flat.
If EPS improves while revenue stays around $137.4M instead of moving toward $143M, the improvement is mostly optical.
med
Leadership change does not translate into operating progress
Trent Green became CEO in March 2025. New leadership matters only if you see better demand, better retention, or at minimum a return to revenue growth.
If 2026 still looks like 2025, the market stops granting NRC a recovery multiple.
The thesis is simple enough to test. If revenue stabilizes and earnings recover toward $1.04, the payout story works. If revenue shrinks again or payout coverage stays this tight, the stock loses its main defense.
source: institutional data · regulatory filings · risk analysis
Pay attention to
metric
Revenue gets out of reverse
The first test is basic: can revenue move from last year's 5% decline back into positive territory. If not, the rebound thesis stays a slide deck story.
risk
Dividend coverage
The annual dividend costs $11.6M and net income was $11.6M. You want to see earnings pull away from the payout, not sit directly on top of it.
calendar
Next earnings report
When management reports next, the important question is not whether EPS beats by pennies. It is whether demand and contract value show actual life.
trend
Buyback execution versus operating trend
A $60M authorization is big enough to matter. If share count falls while revenue stays near $137.4M, you will know what is driving the per-share story.
Analyst rankings
earnings predictability
80 / 100
Management has historically produced fairly steady numbers. In human-speak, analysts think the business is readable even if the growth outlook is not.
source: institutional data
Institutional activity
institutional ownership data for NRC is being compiled.
source: institutional data
Price targets
3-5 year target range
n/a
n/a
$20
current price
n/a
target midpoint · n/a from current
Want the deeper analysis?
The full deep dive: dcf model, scenario analysis, competitive moat breakdown, and quarterly tracking — everything on this page, taken further.
see plans from $5/moThe deep dive