The Pennant Group (Nasdaq: PNTG) has a “robust pipeline” of potential acquisitions in the wings for 2025 across its home health and hospice and senior living business segments.
For prospective deals, Pennant scouts for agencies that show strong promise for organic growth that have “talented” local leaders or entrepreneurs in place, according to CEO Brent Guerisoli. Pennant then leverages the resources in its platform to foster growth.
“Developing local leaders remains at the heart of our operating model,” Guerisoli said in a Q3 earnings call. “As the talent and experience operations and clusters deepens with strong portfolio companies, our efforts throughout our footprint, we are able to more quickly improve new acquisitions and grow seasoned operations, thus the significant investment we have made in our leadership and development programs is the catalyst for enduring momentum.”
Pennant is the holding company for a cluster of independent hospice, home health and senior living providers located across 13 states. Year to date, the company has added more than 60 CEOs to its portfolio agencies as well as 40 internal clinical leaders.
The company’s consolidated revenue for the third quarter reached $180.7 million, up 28.9% from the previous year’s quarter. The home health and hospice segment accounted for $135.7 million, representing a 33.7% increase over Q3 2023. Hospice average daily census grew to 3,444, a 27.7% jump year-over-year.
The Pennant Group agreed to acquire Signature Healthcare at Home’s hospice and home health assets for a price tag of $80 million. The transaction involves two separate purchase agreements, with one projected to complete by August 1 and the other by January 1, pending customary closing conditions and regulatory approval processes.
With that deal under its belt, Pennant is seeking more.
“We will remain disciplined as we evaluate these opportunities and continue to improve the operational fundamentals of our senior living business,” John Gochnour, COO for Pennant, said in the earnings call. “On the home health and hospice side, in August, we acquired the Washington and Idaho assets of Signature Health Care at Home, the integration and transition of these operations is proceeding well, and we are beginning to unlock additional value in these businesses as we implement our unique operating model, share best practices and provide world class support from our service center.”
