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

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Xerox

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of XRX. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Xerox by 33.2% during the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 16,969,127 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $176,140,000 after acquiring an additional 4,228,806 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Xerox by 2.3% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,808,775 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $29,161,000 after purchasing an additional 62,947 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Xerox by 6.7% during the third 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 period. Sound Income Strategies LLC boosted its holdings in Xerox by 27.9% in the 3rd quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 1,033,506 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $10,728,000 after purchasing an additional 225,617 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Xerox by 9.5% in the 3rd 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 period. 85.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Xerox Stock Performance

XRX opened at $9.06 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $9.61 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $11.08. Xerox has a 52-week low of $8.02 and a 52-week high of $19.78. The company has a market cap of $1.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.82 and a beta of 1.59. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.11.

Xerox (NYSE:XRX) last issued its quarterly 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). Xerox had a negative net margin of 21.31% and a positive return on equity of 6.60%. The company had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.63 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.46 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Xerox will post 1.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Xerox Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 11.04%. Xerox’s payout ratio is currently -9.06%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on XRX shares. StockNews.com raised shares of Xerox from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Xerox from $10.00 to $8.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Xerox from $11.00 to $8.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Loop Capital reduced their price target on Xerox from $14.00 to $11.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently 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.