Xerox Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:XRX)

Xerox Holdings Co. (NYSE:XRX - Get Free Report) saw unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Stock investors bought 1,689 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of 1,369% compared to the average daily volume of 115 put options.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Xerox

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Creative Planning bought a new position in Xerox in the third quarter valued at about $225,000. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC increased its position in Xerox by 21.4% in the 3rd quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 193,994 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $2,014,000 after acquiring an additional 34,216 shares during the period. Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its stake in shares of Xerox by 27.9% during the third quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 1,033,506 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $10,728,000 after acquiring an additional 225,617 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Xerox by 381.3% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 10,897 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $113,000 after purchasing an additional 8,633 shares during the period. Finally, Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC increased its holdings in Xerox by 21.2% in the second quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 49,881 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $580,000 after purchasing an additional 8,736 shares during the period. 85.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Xerox Price Performance

Shares of Xerox stock traded up $0.59 on Thursday, reaching $11.07. 3,546,966 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,121,336. The firm's 50 day moving average is $10.40 and its 200-day moving average is $12.40. The firm has a market cap of $1.38 billion, a PE ratio of -10.03 and a beta of 1.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.49. Xerox has a one year low of $9.51 and a one year high of $19.78.

Xerox (NYSE:XRX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The information technology services provider reported $0.29 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.43 by ($0.14). Xerox had a negative net margin of 1.60% and a positive return on equity of 7.33%. The business had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.60 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.44 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Xerox will post 1.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Xerox Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 30th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 9.03%. Xerox's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -95.24%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Loop Capital reduced their target price on Xerox from $14.00 to $11.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. StockNews.com raised shares of Xerox from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, Citigroup started coverage on shares of Xerox in a report on Friday, June 28th. They issued a "sell" rating and a $11.00 price objective for the company. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $12.75.

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.