Xerox Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NASDAQ:XRX)

Xerox Holdings Co. (NASDAQ:XRX) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Traders acquired 1,689 put options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 1,369% compared to the typical daily volume of 115 put options.

Xerox Stock Down 7.0%

Shares of NASDAQ XRX opened at $2.54 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $332.18 million, a PE ratio of -0.31 and a beta of 2.28. The business has a fifty day moving average of $1.68 and a two-hundred day moving average of $2.22. Xerox has a 52-week low of $1.19 and a 52-week high of $6.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 14.04, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 1.18.

Xerox (NASDAQ:XRX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The information technology services provider reported ($0.11) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.20) by $0.09. The company had revenue of $1.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.78 billion. Xerox had a negative return on equity of 12.08% and a negative net margin of 14.09%.The business’s revenue was up 26.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned ($0.06) earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Xerox will post 0.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Xerox Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st were issued a dividend of $0.025 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $0.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.9%. Xerox’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -1.20%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on XRX. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Xerox from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Xerox in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $2.50 price target (down from $3.50) on shares of Xerox in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Xerox currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $2.50.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. First Eagle Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Xerox in the third quarter valued at about $4,333,000. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new position in shares of Xerox in the third quarter valued at about $1,871,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Xerox by 92.7% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,392,028 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $5,234,000 after buying an additional 669,810 shares during the last quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC bought a new position in shares of Xerox in the third quarter valued at about $1,629,000. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Xerox by 104.5% in the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,585,215 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $3,900,000 after buying an additional 809,861 shares during the last quarter. 85.36% of the stock is owned by 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.