Xerox Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:XRX)

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

Xerox Stock Down 1.2 %

XRX opened at $9.38 on Thursday. Xerox has a one year low of $8.02 and a one year high of $19.78. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $8.84 and a 200-day moving average price of $9.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.17 billion, a P/E ratio of -0.85 and a beta of 1.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.11, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 0.95.

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

Xerox Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 10.66%. Xerox’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -9.06%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its stake in Xerox by 67.9% in the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 79,929 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $934,000 after purchasing an additional 32,325 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. lifted its stake in Xerox by 81.8% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 121,663 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $1,414,000 after purchasing an additional 54,748 shares during the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its stake in Xerox by 8.5% in the second quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 251,380 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $2,921,000 after purchasing an additional 19,611 shares during the last quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC bought a new stake in Xerox in the second quarter worth $250,000. Finally, Paradigm Capital Management Inc. NY bought a new stake in Xerox in the second quarter worth $232,000. 85.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

XRX has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Xerox from $11.00 to $8.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Xerox from $10.00 to $8.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Xerox from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and two have issued a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Xerox currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $9.50.

About Xerox

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.