Stock Traders Buy High Volume of Put Options on Xerox (NYSE:XRX)

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

XRX has been the subject of several research reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Xerox from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Xerox in a research report on Friday, June 28th. They issued a “sell” rating and a $11.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Loop Capital decreased their price objective on Xerox from $14.00 to $11.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $12.75.

Xerox Price Performance

NYSE:XRX opened at $10.32 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $10.44 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $12.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.49 and a quick ratio of 1.13. The company has a market cap of $1.28 billion, a P/E ratio of -6.57 and a beta of 1.57. Xerox has a one year low of $9.51 and a one year high of $19.78.

Xerox (NYSE:XRX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The information technology services provider reported $0.29 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.60 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.44 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Xerox will post 1.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Xerox Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 31st. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 9.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 30th. Xerox’s dividend payout ratio is -63.69%.

Institutional Trading of Xerox

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of XRX. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its position in shares of Xerox by 8.8% during the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 26,825 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $492,000 after acquiring an additional 2,162 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Xerox during the fourth quarter worth about $9,435,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in Xerox by 127.3% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 132,811 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $2,434,000 after buying an additional 74,382 shares in the last quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in Xerox by 30,127.3% in the 4th quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,325 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $61,000 after buying an additional 3,314 shares during the period. Finally, CWA Asset Management Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Xerox in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $282,000. Institutional investors own 85.36% of the company’s stock.

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.