Xerox Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:XRX)

Xerox Holdings Co. (NYSE:XRX) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. Traders bought 1,689 put options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 1,369% compared to the average daily volume of 115 put options.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com cut shares of Xerox from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and two have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Xerox presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $9.50.

Xerox Stock Down 6.6%

XRX stock opened at $5.56 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $4.85 and a 200 day moving average price of $7.24. Xerox has a 12 month low of $3.45 and a 12 month high of $14.81. The company has a market cap of $699.31 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.52 and a beta of 1.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.61, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.84.

Xerox (NYSE:XRX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The information technology services provider reported ($0.06) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.03) by ($0.03). Xerox had a negative net margin of 21.24% and a positive return on equity of 7.57%. The company’s revenue was down 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.06 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Xerox will post 1.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Xerox Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a $0.125 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $0.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.99%. Xerox’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -4.74%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in XRX. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in Xerox by 55.5% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 469,106 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $4,869,000 after purchasing an additional 167,500 shares in the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Xerox by 6.7% during the 4th quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 1,102,688 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $9,296,000 after acquiring an additional 69,182 shares during the period. KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in shares of Xerox by 84.5% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 9,223 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $78,000 after acquiring an additional 4,224 shares during the period. Prism Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Xerox during the 4th quarter worth about $103,000. Finally, Yousif Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Xerox by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 53,816 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $454,000 after buying an additional 1,486 shares during the period. 85.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.