Xerox (NYSE:XRX) Lifted to Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Xerox (NYSE:XRX) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report released on Tuesday morning.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on XRX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Xerox from $18.00 to $17.00 and set an underweight rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Citigroup assumed coverage on Xerox in a report on Friday, June 28th. They set a sell rating and a $11.00 price target for the company.

Xerox Price Performance

Shares of NYSE XRX opened at $11.61 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.44 billion, a PE ratio of -7.39 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 1.07. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $13.47 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $16.09. Xerox has a fifty-two week low of $11.44 and a fifty-two week high of $19.78.

Xerox (NYSE:XRX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The information technology services provider reported $0.06 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.35 by ($0.29). The company had revenue of $1.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.53 billion. Xerox had a negative net margin of 2.74% and a positive return on equity of 7.77%. Xerox’s revenue was down 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.49 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Xerox will post 2.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Xerox Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 31st. Investors of record on Friday, June 28th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 28th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.61%. Xerox’s dividend payout ratio is currently -63.69%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Xerox

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of XRX. UBS Group AG grew its position in Xerox by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 146,043 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $2,291,000 after acquiring an additional 1,635 shares during the last quarter. Teza Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Xerox by 99.9% in the 3rd quarter. Teza Capital Management LLC now owns 26,336 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $413,000 after buying an additional 13,160 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Xerox by 43.0% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,766,610 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $27,718,000 after buying an additional 531,173 shares during the last quarter. Graham Capital Management L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Xerox in the 3rd quarter valued at about $336,000. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board bought a new stake in shares of Xerox in the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,194,000. 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.