Hello Friends! I am still having one heck of a time trying to update the website portion of this BLOG. Will get to the bottom of this soon I am sure. Anyhow, remember to come back and visit often but ALSO please consult with your investment advisors before making any decisions based on my comments on this page!
As I said previously, I did a no-no and I have no one to blame but me. Basically, I am trying to get to my 25 position portfolio and when I sold my TTWO this morning, I started looking to see if anything would qualify to replace it, and before I could say "Jack Sprat", I purchased 200 shares of Sybron Dental (SYD) to replace the sold position. In reality, I am supposed to apply the proceeds to the margin balance...sort of a self-righting mechanism in a down market.
Sybron Dental (SYD), is a stock that I already own shares of in a managed retirement account. This is the first time I have put it in my trading portfolio. According to money.cnn.com, Sybron "...is a manufacturer of orthodontic equipment, dental supplies and related equipment."
Looking at the news on Yahoo, we can see that SYD reported GREAT earnings results for their fourth quarter ended September 30, 2003. These results came out "after the bell" yesterday (11/17/03). Net sales for the fourth quarter of 2003 totaled $137.7 million vs. $114.9 million last year. Net income was $17.3 million or $.43/diluted share vs. $6.9 million or $.18/share last year.
Looking at the "5-year restated" results on Morningstar.com, we find that revenue has grown steadily, if not spectacularly, from $366.9 million in 1998, $392.2 million in 1999, $423.1 million in 2000, $439.5 million in 2001, $456.7 million in 2002, and as just reported on Yahoo, $526.4 million in revenue in 2003.
Free cash flow has improved from $48 million in 200 to $59 million in the trailing twelve months.
The balance sheet is fairly well balanced although there ARE significant long-term liabilities: $19.9 millin in cash and $214.4 million in other current assets vs. $82.2 million in current liabilities and $340.7 million in long-term liabilities.
Looking at Yahoo for "key statistics", we find that SYD has a market cap of $984.65 million with a trailing p/e of 21.25 and a forward p/e (fye 9/04) or 15.56. The PEG ratio is reasonable at 1.14, and the Price/sales isn't bad either at 1.81. 38.24 million shares are outstanding with 38.00 million of them that float. Only 426,000 shares are out short but this does represent 3 days of average trading volume. This statistic is as of 10/8/03.
No dividend is paid.
Overall, I like this stock a lot. I like it so much that, No I didn't "marry it", as my kids might say, but I did go ahead and buy some shares today....200 to be exact. The valuation is right, the steady revenue growth is excellent, and the company, although with some significant long-term debt IS spinning off increasing amounts of free cash.
Thanks again for stopping by and sorry about the site-builder problems on the main page. Will keep working on that! Remember to discuss this and all investment ideas with your investment advisor as this may or may not be a good idea and in fact may or may not be suitable for you!
If you have any questions, please feel free to drop me a line at bobsadviceforstocks@lycos.com
Bob