DENTSPLY's (XRAY) Preliminary Q4 Results Cheer Investors

DENTSPLY SIRONA Inc. (NASDAQ:XRAY) recently announced preliminary results for fourth-quarter 2018 wherein the top line surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.02 billion.

Revenues totaled at $1.06 billion, showing a fall of 2.9% year over year.

Adjusted earnings per share came in at 58 cents, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 54 cents. Earnings declined 29.3% year over year.

Investors Cheerful

DENTSPLY’s preliminary fourth-quarter 2018 results seem to impress investors. Share price of this Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) stock rose 4.6% to close at $49.13 since the release.

In the past year, shares of DENTSPLY have declined 12.1%, comparing favorably with the industry's 1.3% fall. The current level is also lower than the S&P 500’s rally of 3.3%.

2018 Results

Revenues in 2018 are expected at $4 billion, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3.94 billion. Revenues fell 0.2% from 2017.

Earnings per share for 2018 were $2.01, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.97. The figure dropped 24.4% from 2017.

Quarter Highlights

Revenues in the fourth quarter are expected to see solid year-over-year increase of 4.6% in Europe and 1.4% in rest of the world. However, U.S. revenues declined 14.7% on a year-over-year basis in the quarter.

Fourth-quarter Consumable revenues increased 3.4% year over year. Notably, the segment benefited from a recovery in shipment levels at the company’s European distribution center in Venlo, the Netherlands.

Technology & Equipment revenues declined 7.4% year over year.

2019 View

For 2019, DENTSPLY expects adjusted earnings per share within the range of $2.25-$2.40. The mid-point of $2.32 of the guided range lies above the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.15.

However, portfolio initiatives are expected to negatively impact 2019 revenues.

Key Picks

Some better-ranked stocks in the broader medical space are Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) , Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI) and Surmodics, Inc. (NASDAQ:SRDX) .

Abbott’s long-term earnings growth rate is projected at 11.7%. The stock has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Merit Medical’s long-term earnings growth rate is projected at 13%. The stock has a Zacks Rank #2.

Surmodics’ long-term earnings growth rate is expected at 10%. The stock flaunts a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

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