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

Key Points

• Unusually high trading activity in put options for Xerox, with 1,689 options traded, reflecting a 1,369% increase compared to the typical volume.
• Xerox's stock currently has an average rating of "Reduce" and a target price of $6.83, following recent analyst upgrades and downgrades.
• The company reported a significant earnings miss of (0.64) EPS for the last quarter, falling short of estimates by $(0.71).

Xerox Holdings Co. (NYSE:XRX - Get Free Report) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Stock traders bought 1,689 put options on the company. This is an increase of 1,369% compared to the typical volume of 115 put options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on XRX. Zacks Research raised shares of Xerox from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 3rd. Citigroup began coverage on shares of Xerox in a research note on Monday, August 18th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $4.50 price target for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $6.83.

Xerox Price Performance

Xerox stock opened at $3.30 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $415.24 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.31 and a beta of 1.81. 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 has a 1 year low of $3.16 and a 1 year high of $11.29. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $3.81 and a two-hundred day moving average of $4.55.

Xerox (NYSE:XRX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The information technology services provider reported ($0.64) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.07 by ($0.71). Xerox had a negative net margin of 21.24% and a positive return on equity of 7.57%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.29 earnings per share. The company's revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. Xerox has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Xerox will post 1.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Xerox Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be issued a $0.025 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 30th. This represents a $0.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. Xerox's payout ratio is currently -0.87%.

Insider Activity at Xerox

In other news, Director A. Scott Letier purchased 29,600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 1st. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $3.95 per share, with a total value of $116,920.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 58,984 shares in the company, valued at approximately $232,986.80. This trade represents a 100.74% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Xerox

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Marshall Wace LLP raised its holdings in shares of Xerox by 71.0% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 3,928,444 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $20,703,000 after purchasing an additional 1,630,999 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Xerox by 2,035.4% in the 1st quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 3,682,002 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $17,784,000 after purchasing an additional 3,509,574 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Xerox by 14.0% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,066,576 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $9,982,000 after purchasing an additional 254,474 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Xerox by 3.4% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,898,380 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $10,004,000 after purchasing an additional 61,723 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Paradigm Capital Management Inc. NY raised its holdings in shares of Xerox by 45.3% in the 2nd quarter. Paradigm Capital Management Inc. NY now owns 1,810,248 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $9,540,000 after purchasing an additional 564,048 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.36% of the company's stock.

Xerox Company Profile

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.

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