The Pennant Group’s (Nasdaq: PNTG) existing home health, hospice and senior living operations continued to improve while the company worked through a major expansion in the Southeast, executives said during the Jefferies Healthcare Services Conference.
In October 2025, The Pennant Group finalized its acquisition of former Amedisys and LHC Group hospice and home health operations across Tennessee, Alabama and Georgia from United Health Group (NYSE: UNH). The transaction covered 54 locations acquired for $146.5 million. The majority of the care centers are based in Tennessee, which operates under certificate-of-need regulations. According to Pennant, roughly two-thirds of the acquired revenue comes from home health services, with the remaining one-third tied to hospice care.
Pennant divided the integration into five waves to give its support teams sufficient time to train employees, move operations onto Pennant’s systems and address the needs of individual agencies, according to CEO Brent Guerisoli.
Large acquisitions can disrupt an organization because local teams must devote time and resources to transitioning the acquired businesses, Guerisoli said at the conference. Despite those demands, Pennant reported growth in census, revenue and profitability across its established operations.
“We’ve seen improvements from the margin front, and we’ve had a major focus on creating productivity gains and really driving value across the business lines,” Guerisoli said. “That’s tough to do when you’re in transition mode.”
Pennant’s second-quarter same-store home health admissions increased 9.7% from the prior-year quarter, while same-store Medicare home health admissions rose 13.6%. Same-store hospice average daily census increased 10.8%.
Companywide second-quarter revenue reached $298 million, up 35.8% year over year. Adjusted EBITDA increased 48.2% to $24.3 million. Pennant subsequently projected 2026 revenue of between $1.17 billion and $1.19 billion.
The Pennant Group has started the fifth and largest wave of its integration of former Amedisys and UnitedHealth Group operations, with executives expecting the acquired businesses to approach the company’s 18% margin target through 2027 and into 2028.
The company’s newly acquired operations were transitioning somewhat ahead of schedule and contributing to stronger-than-expected performance in 2026, according to Guerisoli.
President and Chief Operating Officer John Gochnour attributed the integration progress partly to Pennant’s decentralized operating model. Local leaders receive responsibility for their operations’ full profit-and-loss statements and can make decisions based on conditions in their communities.
Gochnour cautioned that the newly acquired portfolio is not uniform. Some agencies are already strong performers, while others have more substantial opportunities for improvement. That variation means the margin ramp is unlikely to be immediate or linear.
“This was really multiple transitions,” Gochnour said. “You have Amedisys hospice; you have Amedisys home health; you have LHC hospice; you have LHC home health.”
Pennant is likely on the hunt for future deals. The company’s acquisition strategy depends on three principal factors: whether Pennant has leaders ready to manage the acquired operation, whether existing regional teams can support the expansion and whether the investment can generate the desired return, Guerisoli indicated.
Pennant generally seeks a 20% annual return on acquisitions. The company is relatively agnostic about which business line it acquires because it can build a broader continuum around an initial investment. For example, Pennant can add hospice services in a market entered through home health or add home health following a hospice acquisition.
Senior living communities can provide another point of entry and create opportunities for affiliated home health and hospice providers, management said.
Pennant’s leaders said future acquisitions will remain tied to the depth of its leadership pipeline. The company has seven portfolios across its home health and hospice organization, with portfolio leaders incentivized to recruit executive and clinical directors and identify expansion opportunities for those leaders. Pennant does not maintain a separate acquisition department; instead, leaders from existing markets and operating clusters help transition newly purchased agencies.
“Each of those portfolios has leaders who are incentivized to find an amazing talent for that executive director and criminal director role,” Guerisoli said. “They’re incentivized to find acquisitions and create opportunities for those people.”
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