Short Interest in DENTSPLY SIRONA Inc. (NASDAQ:XRAY) Increases By 31.1%

DENTSPLY SIRONA Inc. (NASDAQ:XRAY) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 10,570,000 shares, an increase of 31.1% from the February 28th total of 8,060,000 shares. Currently, 5.4% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 2,870,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.7 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on XRAY shares. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on shares of DENTSPLY SIRONA from $22.00 to $20.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of DENTSPLY SIRONA from $30.00 to $23.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Barrington Research lowered their target price on DENTSPLY SIRONA from $24.00 to $20.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 28th. Mizuho dropped their price target on DENTSPLY SIRONA from $21.00 to $18.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price objective on DENTSPLY SIRONA from $35.00 to $27.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, DENTSPLY SIRONA has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $23.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at DENTSPLY SIRONA

In other DENTSPLY SIRONA news, Director Gregory T. Lucier acquired 15,142 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $16.51 per share, for a total transaction of $249,994.42. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 81,971 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,353,341.21. This trade represents a 22.66 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.52% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of DENTSPLY SIRONA

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in XRAY. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its position in shares of DENTSPLY SIRONA by 222.2% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 38,786 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $736,000 after acquiring an additional 26,748 shares during the period. Vise Technologies Inc. bought a new position in DENTSPLY SIRONA during the fourth quarter worth about $195,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in DENTSPLY SIRONA by 13.4% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 551,442 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $10,466,000 after buying an additional 65,308 shares during the last quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in DENTSPLY SIRONA in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $24,571,000. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of DENTSPLY SIRONA by 15.5% in the fourth quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 25,702 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $488,000 after buying an additional 3,449 shares during the last quarter. 95.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

DENTSPLY SIRONA Stock Down 1.9 %

XRAY stock opened at $14.65 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $2.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.08, a P/E/G ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.98. DENTSPLY SIRONA has a twelve month low of $14.61 and a twelve month high of $33.02. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $17.55 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $20.05. 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 Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Investors of record on Friday, March 28th will be paid a $0.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 28th. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.37%. DENTSPLY SIRONA’s dividend payout ratio is presently -14.07%.

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.