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

Xerox Holdings Co. (NYSE:XRX) saw some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Investors acquired 1,689 put options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 1,369% compared to the typical daily volume of 115 put options.

Xerox Stock Up 0.8 %

Xerox stock opened at $8.92 on Friday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $1.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.81 and a beta of 1.59. Xerox has a fifty-two week low of $8.02 and a fifty-two week high of $19.78. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $8.75 and its two-hundred day moving average is $9.99.

Xerox (NYSE:XRX) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The information technology services provider reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.51 by ($0.26). The firm had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.63 billion. Xerox had a negative net margin of 21.31% and a positive return on equity of 6.60%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.46 EPS. Analysts predict that Xerox will post 1.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Xerox Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 11.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. Xerox’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -9.06%.

Institutional Trading of Xerox

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Xerox by 5.9% during the second quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 23,930 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $278,000 after acquiring an additional 1,327 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its stake in shares of Xerox by 2.6% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 63,666 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $740,000 after acquiring an additional 1,627 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE boosted its stake in shares of Xerox by 42.3% during the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 6,353 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $66,000 after acquiring an additional 1,888 shares during the last quarter. Gladius Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Xerox during the third quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Plato Investment Management Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Xerox by 45.0% during the second quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 9,346 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $109,000 after acquiring an additional 2,899 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.36% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on XRX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Xerox from $11.00 to $8.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Xerox from $10.00 to $8.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Xerox from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 26th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Xerox currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.