Comparing Lifevantage (NASDAQ:LFVN) & DENTSPLY SIRONA (NASDAQ:XRAY)

Lifevantage (NASDAQ:LFVN) and DENTSPLY SIRONA (NASDAQ:XRAY) are both medical companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, dividends, analyst recommendations, risk, institutional ownership, profitability and earnings.

Profitability

This table compares Lifevantage and DENTSPLY SIRONA’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Lifevantage	4.29%	33.75%	15.26%
DENTSPLY SIRONA	-25.85%	16.33%	5.60%

Insider & Institutional Ownership

35.3% of Lifevantage shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 95.7% of DENTSPLY SIRONA shares are owned by institutional investors. 20.7% of Lifevantage shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 0.5% of DENTSPLY SIRONA shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Lifevantage and DENTSPLY SIRONA”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Lifevantage	$228.53 million	0.59	$9.81 million	$0.74	14.28
DENTSPLY SIRONA	$3.67 billion	0.70	-$910.00 million	($4.74)	-2.73

Lifevantage has higher earnings, but lower revenue than DENTSPLY SIRONA. DENTSPLY SIRONA is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Lifevantage, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Risk & Volatility

Lifevantage has a beta of 0.39, indicating that its share price is 61% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, DENTSPLY SIRONA has a beta of 0.96, indicating that its share price is 4% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

Lifevantage pays an annual dividend of $0.18 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.7%. DENTSPLY SIRONA pays an annual dividend of $0.64 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.9%. Lifevantage pays out 24.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. DENTSPLY SIRONA pays out -13.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Lifevantage has increased its dividend for 3 consecutive years and DENTSPLY SIRONA has increased its dividend for 13 consecutive years. DENTSPLY SIRONA is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings for Lifevantage and DENTSPLY SIRONA, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Lifevantage	0	0	2	0	3.00
DENTSPLY SIRONA	0	11	2	0	2.15

Lifevantage currently has a consensus target price of $30.50, indicating a potential upside of 188.55%. DENTSPLY SIRONA has a consensus target price of $18.64, indicating a potential upside of 43.80%. Given Lifevantage’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Lifevantage is more favorable than DENTSPLY SIRONA.

Summary

Lifevantage beats DENTSPLY SIRONA on 9 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Lifevantage

LifeVantage Corporation engages in the identification, research, development, formulation, and sale of advanced nutrigenomic activators, dietary supplements, nootropics, pre- and pro-biotics, weight management, skin and hair care, bath and body, and targeted relief products. It offers Protandim, a dietary supplement; LifeVantage Omega+, a dietary supplement that combines DHA and EPA Omega-3 fatty acids, Omega-7 fatty acids, and vitamin D3; LifeVantage ProBio, a dietary supplement to support gut health; PhysIQ, a weight management system; LifeVantage IC Bright, a supplement to support eye and brain health, reduce eye fatigue and strain, supports cognitive functions, and support normal sleep patterns; Petandim for Dogs, a supplement to combat oxidative stress in dogs; and Axio, a nootropic energy drink mix. The company also provides anti-aging skin care products, including liquid collagen, facial cleansers, perfecting lotions, eye serums, anti-aging creams, hand creams, beauty serum, as well as hair care products, such as invigorating shampoos, nourishing conditioners, and scalp serums under the LifeVantage TrueScience brand name. In addition, it offers bath and body, and targeted relief products, such as body lotion, body wash, body butter, deodorant, soothing balm, and body rub under the TrueScience brand name. It sells its products through its website and network of independent distributors in the United States, Mexico, Japan, Australia, Hong Kong, Canada, Thailand, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Germany, Taiwan, Austria, Spain, Ireland, Belgium, New Zealand, Singapore, and the Philippines. The company was founded in 2003 and is headquartered in Lehi, Utah.

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. It also provides endodontic products consisting of motorized endodontic handpieces, files, sealers, irrigation needles, and other tools that support root canal procedures; restorative products, including dental ceramics, crowns, and veneers; and preventative products, such as curing light systems, dental diagnostic systems, and ultrasonic scalers and polishers, as well as dental anesthetics, prophylaxis paste, dental sealants, and impression materials. In addition, the company offers SureSmile and Byte aligner solutions; VPro/HyperByte, a high-frequency vibration technology device; SureSmile Simulator, which creates a 3D visualization of a patient's outcome; and Byte Plus for treatment planning. Further, it provides dental implants, digital dentures, crown and bridge porcelain products, bone regenerative and restorative solutions, treatment planning software, and educational programs; dental prosthetics; urology catheters; and other health-related consumables. The company serves professional dental and consumable medical device markets through third-party distributors. The company was formerly known as DENTSPLY International Inc. and changed its name to DENTSPLY SIRONA Inc. in February 2016. DENTSPLY SIRONA Inc. was founded in 1877 and is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina