Dentsply Sirona (XRAY) Added by Ariel Fund as Strategic Reset Targets Long-Term Growth

Ariel Investments, an investment management company, released its “Ariel Fund” fourth-quarter 2025 investor letter. The fund delivered a +3.22% return in the fourth quarter of 2025, performing roughly in line with both the Russell 2500 Value Index (+3.15%) and the Russell 2000 Value Index (+3.26%), as U.S. equities posted a modest quarterly gain despite earlier volatility marked by a sharp April sell-off, an extended government shutdown, and rising job cuts. For the trailing one-year period, the Fund advanced 14.15%, outperforming the Russell 2500 Value Index’s +12.73% and the Russell 2000 Value Index’s +12.59% return, while its 5- and 10-year average annual returns stood at +9.36% and +9.51%, respectively. Management attributed performance to resilient corporate earnings, easing inflation, and rising expectations for more accommodative monetary policy. Continued enthusiasm around artificial intelligence and cloud infrastructure also supported markets, although gains remained concentrated in a narrow group of large-cap stocks. Looking ahead to 2026, the firm maintains a measured and cautious outlook. It pointed to geopolitical risks, fiscal constraints, labor market dynamics, and elevated market concentration as potential sources of volatility. At the same time, management reaffirmed its long-term, bottom-up approach, emphasizing strong balance sheets, durable fundamentals, and valuation discipline to navigate shifting market leadership. In addition, please check the Fund’s top five holdings to know its best picks in 2025.

In its fourth-quarter 2025 investor letter, Ariel Fund highlighted stocks like DENTSPLY SIRONA Inc. (NASDAQ:XRAY). DENTSPLY SIRONA Inc. (NASDAQ:XRAY) is a dental equipment and consumables manufacturer providing technologies and solutions for dental professionals worldwide. The one-month return of DENTSPLY SIRONA Inc. (NASDAQ:XRAY) was -10.25% while its shares traded between $9.85 and $17.18 over the last 52 weeks. On March 5, 2026, DENTSPLY SIRONA Inc. (NASDAQ:XRAY) stock closed at approximately $13.33 per share, with a market capitalization of about $2.47 billion.

Ariel Fund stated the following regarding DENTSPLY SIRONA Inc. (NASDAQ:XRAY) in its Q4 2025 investor letter:

Also during the quarter, we added

Dentsply Sirona (NASDAQ:XRAY)

, a leading global dental manufacturing company, to the portfolio. Since acquiring Sirona Dental in 2016, the company has faced challenges, particularly in its core capital equipment business, which has come under pressure from lower-cost technology alternatives. Despite these headwinds, we view the dental market favorably given its attractive dynamics: steady growth, lower reimbursement risk, and higher out-of-pocket spending compared to other healthcare segments. Management is executing a strategic reset focused on innovative product development and portfolio expansion, operational efficiencies, emerging market growth and bolt-on acquisitions to strengthen competitive positioning. With these initiatives underway, we believe XRAY is well-positioned to capitalize on secular growth trends, improve margins and drive long-term shareholder value.

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DENTSPLY SIRONA Inc. (NASDAQ:XRAY) is not on our list of 40 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds Heading Into 2026. As per our database, 38 hedge fund portfolios held DENTSPLY SIRONA Inc. (NASDAQ:XRAY) at the end of the fourth quarter, which was 41 in the previous quarter. While we acknowledge the risk and potential of DENTSPLY SIRONA Inc. (NASDAQ:XRAY) as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter time frame. If you're looking for an extremely undervalued AI stock that also stands to benefit significantly from Trump-era tariffs and the onshoring trend, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock.

In another article, we covered DENTSPLY SIRONA Inc. (NASDAQ:XRAY) and shared the list of stocks that were discussed by Jim Cramer. In addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q4 2025 page for more investor letters from hedge funds and other leading investors.

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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.