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

Xerox Holdings Co. (NYSE:XRX) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Stock investors acquired 1,689 put options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 1,369% compared to the typical volume of 115 put options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on XRX shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Xerox from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Xerox from $11.00 to $8.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Loop Capital dropped their price objective on Xerox from $14.00 to $11.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Xerox from $10.00 to $8.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $9.50.

Xerox Price Performance

Shares of NYSE XRX remained flat at $8.27 during trading hours on Thursday. The company had a trading volume of 117,359 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,203,555. The business’s 50-day moving average is $9.89 and its 200-day moving average is $11.39. The stock has a market cap of $1.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.42 and a beta of 1.59. Xerox has a 52 week low of $8.02 and a 52 week high of $19.78. 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 quarterly earnings data 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). The business had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.63 billion. Xerox had a positive return on equity of 6.60% and a negative net margin of 21.31%. The company’s revenue was down 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.46 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Xerox will post 1.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Xerox Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Shareholders 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 12.09%. Xerox’s payout ratio is currently -9.06%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of 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 valued at $176,140,000 after acquiring an additional 4,228,806 shares during the last quarter. SG Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Xerox during the first quarter valued at approximately $8,466,000. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC lifted its stake in Xerox by 282.4% in the second quarter. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC now owns 353,682 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $4,110,000 after acquiring an additional 261,180 shares during the period. Edgestream Partners L.P. bought a new stake in Xerox in the first quarter valued at $4,509,000. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Xerox during the 1st quarter valued at $4,066,000. 85.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.