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

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

Xerox Price Performance

XRX stock opened at $8.92 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $8.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $9.99. The stock has a market cap 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 company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.11.

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). Xerox had a positive return on equity of 6.60% and a negative net margin of 21.31%. The business had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.63 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.46 EPS. Xerox’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Xerox will post 1.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Xerox Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Investors 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 yield of 11.21%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. Xerox’s dividend payout ratio is currently -9.06%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Xerox by 20.4% during the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 187,549 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $2,179,000 after buying an additional 31,779 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Xerox by 5.9% in 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 purchasing an additional 1,327 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Xerox by 104,776.3% during the second quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 61,877 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $719,000 after purchasing an additional 61,818 shares during the last quarter. TradeLink Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Xerox by 133.6% during the second quarter. TradeLink Capital LLC now owns 26,874 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $312,000 after purchasing an additional 15,370 shares during the period. Finally, WINTON GROUP Ltd grew its position in Xerox by 31.3% in the 2nd quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd now owns 71,906 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $836,000 after buying an additional 17,155 shares during the last quarter. 85.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on XRX. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Xerox from $10.00 to $8.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. StockNews.com upgraded Xerox from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective 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 investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.