Investors Buy Large Volume of Xerox Put Options (NYSE:XRX)

Xerox Holdings Co. (NYSE:XRX) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Stock investors purchased 1,689 put options on the stock. This is an increase of 1,369% compared to the typical daily volume of 115 put options.

Xerox Stock Performance

Shares of XRX stock opened at $10.87 on Thursday. Xerox has a 52 week low of $9.51 and a 52 week high of $19.78. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $10.91 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $13.96. The firm has a market cap of $1.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.92 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.49.

Xerox (NYSE:XRX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The information technology services provider reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.43 by ($0.14). The firm had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.60 billion. Xerox had a negative net margin of 1.60% and a positive return on equity of 7.33%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.44 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Xerox will post 1.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Xerox Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 31st. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 30th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 9.20%. Xerox’s payout ratio is -63.69%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on XRX. Citigroup assumed coverage on Xerox in a report on Friday, June 28th. They set a “sell” rating and a $11.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com raised shares of Xerox from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Loop Capital decreased their target price on shares of Xerox from $14.00 to $11.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $12.75.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new position in Xerox during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. CWM LLC grew its holdings in shares of Xerox by 155.5% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,264 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 1,378 shares in the last quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Xerox in the first quarter worth approximately $45,000. TFO Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in Xerox by 30,127.3% in the fourth quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,325 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 3,314 shares in the last quarter. Finally, nVerses Capital LLC bought a new stake in Xerox during the second quarter valued at approximately $78,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.