Topic: How To Invest

Good day Pat & team. Thanks for many years of sound advice and best wishes. Could you share your thoughts on Dentsply International? Thank you for your guidance. Regards.

Article Excerpt

Dentsply International, $37.37, symbol XRAY on Nasdaq (Shares outstanding: 142.1 million; Market cap: $5.3 billion; www.dentsply.com), develops, makes and markets products for the dental industry. The company’s consumable and laboratory products include artificial teeth, root-canal instruments, impression materials, dental sealants and anesthetics. Dentsply also develops and makes dental equipment, including X-ray systems, cameras, and computer-imaging systems and related software. The company’s earnings per share rose 2% in the fourth quarter of 2010. Sales fell 1%. However, Dentsply plans to launch a number of new products that should restore its sales growth. The company holds cash of $540 million, or $3.80 a share. Its total debt of $604 million is equal to low 11.4% of market cap. The stock trades at a reasonable 18.1 times the $2.06 a share that Dentsply is forecast to earn this year. Dentsply is okay to hold. …