Xerox Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:XRX)

Xerox Holdings Co. (NYSE:XRX) saw some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. Stock traders bought 1,689 put options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 1,369% compared to the typical daily volume of 115 put options.

Xerox Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of XRX opened at $8.92 on Thursday. Xerox has a 1-year low of $8.02 and a 1-year high of $19.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.81 and a beta of 1.59. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $8.74 and its 200-day moving average price is $10.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.11.

Xerox (NYSE:XRX) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The information technology services provider reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by ($0.26). The firm had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.63 billion. Xerox had a positive return on equity of 6.60% and a negative net margin of 21.31%. The firm’s revenue was down 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.46 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Xerox will post 1.12 EPS for the current year.

Xerox Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 11.21%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. Xerox’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -9.06%.

Institutional Trading of Xerox

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Xerox by 9.5% during the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 796,609 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $8,269,000 after buying an additional 69,183 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Xerox by 6.7% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,719,607 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $17,850,000 after purchasing an additional 107,580 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Xerox by 75.2% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 179,118 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $2,081,000 after purchasing an additional 76,886 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Xerox by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,808,775 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $29,161,000 after purchasing an additional 62,947 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royce & Associates LP increased its stake in Xerox by 16.9% during the 3rd quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 742,189 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $7,704,000 after purchasing an additional 107,127 shares in the last quarter. 85.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Xerox from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Xerox from $11.00 to $8.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Xerox from $10.00 to $8.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Xerox presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $9.50.

Xerox Company Profile

Xerox Holdings Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a workplace technology company that integrates hardware, services, and software for enterprises in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, India, and internationally. The company operates through two segments, Print and Other; and FITTLE.