Look beyond acquisitional growth

Article Excerpt

You should remain wary of stocks that attract broker/media praise for their high-profile products or services and their business models. Here’s an example of a stock to avoid: DENTALCORP HOLDINGS LTD., $9.75, (Toronto symbol DNTL; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk) (dentalcorp.ca; Shares o/s: 176.4 million; Market cap: $1.7 billion; No dividends paid) is Canada’s largest dental practice network. The company now has more than 538 practices nationwide. The network includes over 1,650 dentists, over 2,000 hygienists and over 4,800 auxiliary dental health professionals. Currently, 1.9 million patients visit its practices, for 4.5 million visits annually. Dentalcorp continues to grow rapidly by acquisition. It started with 10 dental practices. By 2017, it was up to 222. Over the past five years or so, it has more than doubled to 538. The strategy of buying up individual dental practices can produce rapid growth in revenue. And since Dentalcorp’s own shares typically trade at a higher multiple of earnings than the practices it’s buying, the company raises its per-share earnings…