Xerox Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:XRX)

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on XRX. StockNews.com raised shares of Xerox from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Xerox from $11.00 to $8.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Xerox from $10.00 to $8.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Three equities research 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 data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $9.50.

Xerox Stock Performance

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

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

Xerox Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 11.21%. Xerox’s payout ratio is currently -9.06%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Xerox

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Xerox by 33.2% in 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 purchasing an additional 4,228,806 shares during the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its stake in shares of Xerox by 27.9% during the 3rd quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 1,033,506 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $10,728,000 after acquiring an additional 225,617 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its position in Xerox by 55.5% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 469,106 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $4,869,000 after buying an additional 167,500 shares in the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Xerox in the third quarter worth $1,626,000. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its stake in Xerox by 1,960.4% during the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 163,163 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $1,694,000 after purchasing an additional 155,244 shares during the last quarter. 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.