Stock Traders Buy High Volume of Xerox Put Options (NYSE:XRX)

Xerox Holdings Co. (NYSE:XRX) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. Traders bought 1,689 put options on the company. This is an increase of 1,369% compared to the average volume of 115 put options.

Xerox Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE:XRX opened at $10.56 on Thursday. Xerox has a 1-year low of $9.51 and a 1-year high of $19.78. The stock has a market cap of $1.31 billion, a P/E ratio of -6.73 and a beta of 1.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.49 and a quick ratio of 1.13. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $10.68 and a 200 day moving average price of $13.39.

Xerox (NYSE:XRX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The information technology services provider reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.43 by ($0.14). Xerox had a positive return on equity of 7.33% and a negative net margin of 1.60%. The firm had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.60 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.44 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Xerox will post 1.79 EPS for the current year.

Xerox Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 9.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 30th. Xerox’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -63.69%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on XRX. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Xerox from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Loop Capital decreased their price target on shares of Xerox from $14.00 to $11.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Finally, Citigroup began coverage on shares of Xerox in a research note on Friday, June 28th. They set a “sell” rating and a $11.00 price target for the company. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Xerox has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $12.75.

Institutional Trading of Xerox

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in XRX. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Xerox by 10.7% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,587,041 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $29,090,000 after acquiring an additional 153,144 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its stake in shares of Xerox by 8.8% in the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 26,825 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $492,000 after purchasing an additional 2,162 shares during the period. Brown Advisory Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Xerox by 28.7% in the fourth quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 14,575 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $267,000 after purchasing an additional 3,250 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Xerox in the fourth quarter valued at about $9,435,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Xerox in the fourth quarter valued at about $391,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.36% of the company’s stock.

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.