Xerox Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NASDAQ:XRX)

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on XRX. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $2.50 price target (down from $3.50) on shares of Xerox in a report on Friday, January 30th. Zacks Research upgraded Xerox from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings assumed coverage on Xerox in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. They set a “sell (d-)” rating for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $2.50.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Xerox

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Spire Wealth Management acquired a new position in Xerox during the second quarter worth approximately $31,000. Plato Investment Management Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Xerox during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $44,000. S Harris Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Xerox in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Captrust Financial Advisors acquired a new stake in Xerox during the 2nd quarter valued at $58,000. Finally, Williams & Novak LLC bought a new position in Xerox during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. 85.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Xerox Stock Up 3.5%

NASDAQ:XRX opened at $1.76 on Thursday. Xerox has a twelve month low of $1.65 and a twelve month high of $6.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $225.35 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.21 and a beta of 1.71. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.94. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $2.22 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $2.91.

Xerox (NASDAQ:XRX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The information technology services provider reported ($0.10) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.15 by ($0.25). The firm had revenue of $2.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.08 billion. Xerox had a negative net margin of 14.65% and a negative return on equity of 8.26%. Xerox’s quarterly revenue was up 25.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.36 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Xerox will post 1.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Xerox Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.025 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $0.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.7%. Xerox’s payout ratio is currently -1.22%.

About Xerox

Xerox Holdings Corporation (NYSE: XRX) is a global provider of document management technology and services. The company designs and manufactures a broad range of multifunction printers, production printers, digital presses and related consumables. In addition to its hardware offerings, Xerox delivers software and workflow automation solutions, managed print services and cloud-based document platforms that help organizations optimize their information-intensive processes.

Founded in 1906 as The Haloid Photographic Company, Xerox pioneered xerographic imaging in the late 1940s, launching the first plain-paper copier in 1959.