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

Xerox Holdings Co. (NYSE:XRX) was the target of unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Stock investors purchased 1,689 put options on the company. This is an increase of 1,369% compared to the typical volume of 115 put options.

Analyst Ratings Changes

XRX has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup reduced their price target on Xerox from $4.50 to $3.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 10th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Xerox from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $3.50.

Xerox Stock Performance

NYSE:XRX opened at $2.51 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $2.87 and a 200-day moving average of $3.92. The firm has a market cap of $321.51 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.23 and a beta of 1.73. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.61. Xerox has a twelve month low of $2.32 and a twelve month high of $9.91.

Xerox (NYSE:XRX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The information technology services provider reported $0.20 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.18) by $0.38. Xerox had a negative net margin of 21.24% and a positive return on equity of 7.57%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 28.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.25 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Xerox will post 1.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Xerox Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 31st will be issued a $0.025 dividend. This represents a $0.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 31st. Xerox’s payout ratio is presently -1.28%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Xerox

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Spire Wealth Management purchased a new position in Xerox in the 2nd quarter worth about $31,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Xerox in the second quarter worth approximately $34,000. Plato Investment Management Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Xerox during the second quarter valued at approximately $44,000. FORA Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Xerox in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Finally, Sage Rhino Capital LLC acquired a new position in Xerox in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $55,000. 85.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.