National Health Investors (NHI) Falls Short of Q4 FFO Expectations

National Health Investors Reports Quarterly Results

National Health Investors (NHI) announced funds from operations (FFO) of $1.22 per share for the recent quarter, which fell short of the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.24 per share. In comparison, the company reported FFO of $1.13 per share in the same period last year. These numbers exclude one-time items.

This result reflects a negative FFO surprise of 1.21%. In the previous quarter, analysts had anticipated FFO of $1.24 per share, but NHI delivered $1.32, exceeding expectations by 6.45%.

Over the past four quarters, NHI has beaten consensus FFO estimates three times.

As part of the Zacks REIT and Equity Trust - Other sector, National Health Investors generated $105.82 million in revenue for the quarter ending December 2025, surpassing the consensus estimate by 7.08%. This marks an increase from $85.75 million in revenue a year earlier. The company has also exceeded revenue forecasts in three of the last four quarters.

The direction of NHI's stock price in the near term will likely be influenced by management's insights during the earnings call, as well as future FFO projections.

Since the start of the year, NHI shares have climbed approximately 15.4%, outpacing the S&P 500's 1.5% gain.

What Lies Ahead for National Health Investors?

Although NHI has outperformed the broader market so far this year, investors are now wondering about the company's future prospects.

One key indicator to watch is the company's FFO outlook, which includes both current consensus estimates for upcoming quarters and any recent changes to those forecasts.

Research indicates that short-term stock performance is closely linked to trends in estimate revisions. Investors can monitor these changes themselves or use established tools like the Zacks Rank, which has a strong history of leveraging estimate revisions for stock selection.

Before this earnings announcement, NHI's estimate revisions were trending positively. While these trends may shift following the latest results, the current outlook gives NHI a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), suggesting the stock is likely to outperform the market in the near term. You can view the full list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

It will be important to watch how analyst estimates for the next quarters and the current fiscal year evolve in the coming days. Presently, the consensus calls for FFO of $1.21 per share on $102.28 million in revenue for the next quarter, and FFO of $5.12 per share on $422.04 million in revenue for the fiscal year.

Investors should also consider the broader industry outlook, as it can significantly affect NHI's performance. The REIT and Equity Trust - Other industry currently ranks in the bottom 38% of over 250 Zacks industries. Historically, the top half of Zacks-ranked industries outperform the bottom half by more than two to one.

Update on Jefferies Financial Group

Jefferies (JEF), another company in the Zacks Finance sector, has not yet released its results for the quarter ending February 2026.

The firm is projected to report quarterly earnings of $1.15 per share, which would represent a 91.7% increase from the prior year. The consensus estimate for Jefferies' earnings per share has remained stable over the past month.

Revenue for Jefferies is expected to reach $2.15 billion, a 34.8% rise compared to the same quarter last year.

Is National Health Investors, Inc. (NHI) a Good Investment?

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