DENTSPLY SIRONA (NASDAQ:XRAY) Sets New 1-Year Low on Analyst Downgrade

DENTSPLY SIRONA Inc. (NASDAQ:XRAY) hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Friday after StockNews.com downgraded the stock from a buy rating to a hold rating. The company traded as low as $17.09 and last traded at $17.15, with a volume of 6160723 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $18.81.

A number of other analysts have also commented on XRAY. Barrington Research decreased their price objective on DENTSPLY SIRONA from $24.00 to $20.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Mizuho initiated coverage on DENTSPLY SIRONA in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $21.00 price target for the company. Jefferies Financial Group cut DENTSPLY SIRONA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $30.00 to $20.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Leerink Partnrs lowered shares of DENTSPLY SIRONA from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of DENTSPLY SIRONA from $35.00 to $27.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $23.58.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On DENTSPLY SIRONA

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of XRAY. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in DENTSPLY SIRONA by 15,105.1% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 4,503,591 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $85,478,000 after purchasing an additional 4,473,972 shares during the period. Nuance Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of DENTSPLY SIRONA by 25.0% during the 4th quarter. Nuance Investments LLC now owns 13,545,981 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $257,103,000 after acquiring an additional 2,708,097 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in DENTSPLY SIRONA in the 4th quarter worth about $45,730,000. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in DENTSPLY SIRONA by 245.1% in the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,893,023 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $54,389,000 after acquiring an additional 2,054,767 shares during the period. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in DENTSPLY SIRONA by 18.7% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 12,549,242 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $238,186,000 after purchasing an additional 1,975,404 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.70% of the company’s stock.

DENTSPLY SIRONA Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $3.29 billion, a P/E ratio of -8.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.96. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $18.83 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $21.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72.

DENTSPLY SIRONA Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 28th will be given a $0.16 dividend. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 28th. DENTSPLY SIRONA’s dividend payout ratio is currently -30.92%.

About DENTSPLY SIRONA

DENTSPLY SIRONA Inc manufactures and sells various dental products and technologies worldwide. It operates in four segments: Connected Technology Solutions, Essential Dental Solutions, Orthodontic and Implant Solutions, and Wellspect Healthcare. The company offers dental equipment comprising imaging equipment, motorized dental handpieces, treatment centers, other instruments, amalgamators, mixing machines, and porcelain furnaces; and dental CAD/CAM technologies to support dental restorations, such as intraoral scanners, 3-D printers, mills, other software and services, and a full-chairside economical restoration of esthetic ceramic dentistry, as well as DS Core, its cloud-based platform.