Diversified Healthcare Trust (DHC) Stock Price & How to Invest

Last updated July 2026

Short answer

DHC (Diversified Healthcare Trust) is a small-cap, externally managed healthcare REIT that owns senior living communities plus medical office and life science buildings, so it trades as a turnaround and recovery story tied to senior housing occupancy rather than as a steady income payer (its common dividend is a token $0.01 per quarter). Investors typically treat it as a higher-risk, higher-volatility way to bet on the senior housing rebound.

DHC stock price

As of 2026-07-27, Diversified Healthcare Trust (DHC) last closed at $9.41, up 179.2% over the past year. Over the past 52 weeks it has traded between $3.27 and $9.64.

DHC last close
$9.41
1 day
+0.75%
1 month
-0.84%
1 year
+179.23%
52-week range
$3.27 to $9.64
Last close
2026-07-27

Prices are daily closing prices from Yahoo Finance and may be delayed. For the live quote, check your broker or Diversified Healthcare Trust's investor relations page. Walnut is informational, not investment advice.

What does Diversified Healthcare Trust (DHC) do?

Diversified Healthcare Trust is a real estate investment trust that owns a roughly $6.2 billion portfolio of about 285 properties across 33 states and Washington, D.C. Its assets split into two main buckets: a senior housing operating portfolio (SHOP, roughly 23,900 senior living units) and medical office plus life science space (about 5.6 million square feet leased to roughly 250 tenants). DHC is externally managed by The RMR Group (Nasdaq: RMR), a commercial real estate asset manager with over $37 billion under management, so DHC has no employees of its own and pays management fees to RMR.

The investment picture is a recovery and deleveraging story. DHC cut its common dividend to a token $0.01 per quarter during the pandemic-era downturn in senior housing and has been reshaping the portfolio through asset sales while occupancy and rates recover. First quarter 2026 revenue was about $366.5 million (down from ~$386.9 million a year earlier as it sells assets), and the company still runs a net loss, but consolidated NOI and normalized FFO are rising. Management guides to double-digit SHOP NOI growth for 2026 and, after repaying its 2026 zero coupon notes, has no debt maturing until 2028. The result is a leveraged, volatile small-cap where value depends on the senior housing rebound outrunning a still-heavy ~$2.4 billion debt load.

What's driving Diversified Healthcare Trust (DHC)?

1. Senior housing (SHOP) recovery

DHC's senior living operating portfolio is the main earnings lever, and it is recovering as occupancy and rates climb. First quarter 2026 SHOP NOI rose to about $43.6 million, and management guides to roughly 26 to 33 percent SHOP NOI growth for full year 2026. This demographic tailwind (an aging U.S. population and limited new supply) is the core of the bull case.

2. Deleveraging and maturity runway

DHC carries roughly $2.42 billion of total debt, and reducing that burden is central to the story. It fully repaid its 2026 zero coupon senior secured notes in December 2025, freeing 45 collateral properties, and now has no debt maturing until 2028. That runway gives the recovery time to play out and lowers refinancing risk in the near term.

3. Portfolio repositioning and asset sales

Management has been selling medical office, life science, and other properties to raise cash and concentrate the portfolio. This shrinks reported revenue (down year over year) but is intended to strengthen the balance sheet and focus capital on the higher-growth SHOP segment. Execution on dispositions at reasonable prices is a key swing factor.

4. Stable medical office and life science base

The medical office and life science portfolio (about 5.6 million square feet across roughly 250 tenants) provides a steadier, lease-based cash flow stream that offsets the more operationally sensitive senior housing side. Management guides to broadly stable results here in 2026, giving the overall portfolio a more defensive counterweight.

What are the risks to Diversified Healthcare Trust (DHC)?

DHC is a leveraged small-cap REIT and remains higher risk than large diversified peers. It still posts net losses (a ~$43.3 million loss in the first quarter of 2026), carries roughly $2.4 billion of debt against a ~$2.2 billion equity market cap, and pays only a token $0.01 quarterly common dividend, so it is not an income vehicle. As an externally managed REIT, it pays fees to The RMR Group, which can create conflicts of interest that some investors dislike. The senior housing recovery could stall on labor costs, occupancy softness, or higher-for-longer interest rates, and asset sales could dilute future earnings if made at weak prices. The stock is volatile and sensitive to interest rate moves.

How is Diversified Healthcare Trust (DHC) valued? (approximate, July 2026)

A simple financial snapshot. These are approximations and refresh quarterly; for current figures see Diversified Healthcare Trust's investor relations page or your broker.

  • Revenue (Q1 2026): ~$366.5M
  • Revenue (TTM): ~$1.45B
  • Net loss (Q1 2026): ~$43.3M (-$0.18/sh)
  • Normalized FFO (2026 guide): ~$125-140M ($0.52-0.58/sh)
  • Market cap: ~$2.2B
  • Total debt: ~$2.42B

DHC is a small-cap REIT best measured on FFO and NOI rather than net income, since large non-cash items (depreciation, impairments, gains on sales) swing reported earnings. On a price-to-normalized-FFO basis (~$0.52-0.58 for 2026 against a high-single-digit share price) it screens cheap versus larger healthcare REITs, reflecting its leverage and recovery risk. The near-zero common dividend means valuation rests on the balance sheet and NOI trajectory, not yield.

Who competes with Diversified Healthcare Trust (DHC)?

Large diversified healthcare REITs

Welltower (WELL) and Ventas (VTR) are the giants of the space, with far larger, better-capitalized portfolios of senior housing and outpatient medical properties. They are DHC's closest peers by property mix but dwarf it in scale, balance-sheet strength, and dividend coverage.

Senior housing and skilled nursing REITs

Sabra Health Care REIT (SBRA) and National Health Investors (NHI) focus on senior housing, skilled nursing, and specialty care. They compete with DHC's SHOP segment for the same demographic tailwind but tend to carry lower leverage and pay meaningful dividends.

Medical office and life science REITs

Healthcare Realty Trust (HR) and similar owners of medical office and life science buildings compete with DHC's non-SHOP segment for tenants and acquisitions. These names are typically more lease-driven and income-oriented than DHC's turnaround profile.

How to invest in Diversified Healthcare Trust (DHC)

There are three common ways to get DHC exposure. Buy shares (or fractional shares) directly at any major broker. Hold an ETF that includes it, which spreads the position across many companies. Or build it into a focused thematic basket, so DHC sits alongside other stocks that express the same thesis.

Walnut takes the basket route. Describe a thesis where DHC fits (for example “AI infrastructure” or “dividend-growth large-caps”) and the AI proposes 5 to 6 constituents with target weights. You review the plan and fund it through your own broker when you're ready.

New to this? Start with how to invest in stocks, see how to analyze a stock with AI, or compare the best AI stock analyzers.

The bottom line on Diversified Healthcare Trust (DHC)

DHC is a leveraged, RMR-managed healthcare REIT whose story hinges on senior housing NOI growth and deleveraging, not on current dividend income.

More on Diversified Healthcare Trust (DHC)

Whether DHC is worth buying today depends more on your time horizon and what you already hold than on any single call. We walk through valuation, what would have to go right, and the risks in is DHC a buy?, and where the stock could go from here in the DHC stock forecast.

For income investors, whether DHC pays a dividend and how the payout looks is covered in does DHC pay a dividend?

Build a basket around DHC with Walnut

Use Diversified Healthcare Trust as one constituent in a thematic basket Walnut's AI helps you assemble. Describe a thesis you believe in, the AI proposes the holdings and weights, and you approve before any broker order.

FAQ

What does Diversified Healthcare Trust (DHC) do?

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DHC is a real estate investment trust that owns roughly 285 healthcare properties across the U.S., split between senior living communities (its SHOP segment) and medical office plus life science buildings. It is externally managed by The RMR Group, so it owns and operates real estate rather than providing healthcare services directly.

Is DHC a good dividend stock?

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DHC currently pays only a token common dividend of about $0.01 per quarter (a yield near 0.4 percent), after cutting it during the senior housing downturn. It is not a meaningful income vehicle today; its appeal is tied to a potential recovery in earnings and the balance sheet, not current yield.

How did DHC perform in its latest quarter?

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In the first quarter of 2026 DHC reported revenue of about $366.5 million (down from ~$386.9 million a year earlier due to asset sales) and a net loss of about $43.3 million, or $0.18 per share. Consolidated NOI and normalized FFO both rose year over year, helped by senior housing gains and lower interest costs.

Who manages DHC and why does that matter?

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DHC is externally managed by The RMR Group (Nasdaq: RMR), which handles buying, selling, financing, and operating its properties. External management means DHC has no employees and pays fees to RMR, an arrangement that can create conflicts of interest and is a factor some investors weigh when evaluating the stock.

What are the main risks with DHC?

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Key risks include high leverage (roughly $2.4 billion of debt), ongoing net losses, sensitivity to interest rates, execution risk on asset sales, and reliance on a continued senior housing occupancy recovery. As a leveraged small-cap REIT, its share price is volatile.

How does DHC compare to Welltower and Ventas?

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Welltower and Ventas are much larger, better-capitalized healthcare REITs with similar property types but far stronger balance sheets and dividends. DHC is a smaller, more leveraged turnaround play, so it can offer more upside if its recovery works but carries considerably more risk.

Why does DHC report losses if its properties generate income?

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REIT net income is heavily affected by non-cash charges like depreciation and impairments, plus one-time items such as gains or losses on property sales. That is why analysts focus on funds from operations (FFO) and net operating income (NOI), which strip out those items and show DHC's cash-generating trend more clearly.

How can someone invest in DHC?

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DHC trades on the Nasdaq under the ticker DHC and can be bought through any standard brokerage account like any other listed stock. Walnut is not an investment adviser, so any decision should reflect your own research, time horizon, and tolerance for the volatility of a leveraged small-cap REIT.

Walnut is informational, not investment advice. Financial figures on this page are approximations; always verify current numbers with Diversified Healthcare Trust's investor relations page or your broker before making investment decisions.