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

Xerox Holdings Co. (NYSE:XRX) saw some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. Traders bought 1,689 put options on the company. This represents an increase of 1,369% compared to the typical volume of 115 put options.

Xerox Stock Down 0.2 %

XRX stock opened at $9.06 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.82 and a beta of 1.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.11, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.26. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $9.58 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $11.06. Xerox has a fifty-two week low of $8.02 and a fifty-two week high of $19.78.

Xerox (NYSE:XRX) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 firm 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%. Xerox’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.46 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Xerox will post 1.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Xerox Announces Dividend

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

Institutional Trading of Xerox

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in XRX. CWM LLC raised its stake in Xerox by 155.5% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,264 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 1,378 shares during the last quarter. Gladius Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Xerox during the third quarter valued at $29,000. US Bancorp DE boosted its stake in Xerox by 42.3% in the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 6,353 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $66,000 after purchasing an additional 1,888 shares in the last quarter. nVerses Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Xerox during the 2nd quarter valued at about $78,000. Finally, Plato Investment Management Ltd increased its stake in Xerox by 45.0% during the 2nd quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 9,346 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $109,000 after purchasing an additional 2,899 shares in the last quarter. 85.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

About Xerox

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.