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

Key Points

• Investors purchased 1,689 put options on Xerox, which is a significant increase of 1,369% compared to the average daily volume of 115 put options.
• Xerox has received a consensus rating of "Reduce" with a price target of $6.83, following recent upgrades and downgrades from analysts.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.025 per share, representing a 3.0% dividend yield for shareholders of record.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on XRX. Zacks Research upgraded Xerox from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Citigroup began coverage on Xerox in a report on Monday, August 18th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $4.50 target price on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Xerox currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $6.83.

Insider Activity at Xerox

In related news, Director A. Scott Letier acquired 29,600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 1st. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $3.95 per share, with a total value of $116,920.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Xerox

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

Xerox Stock Performance

Shares of Xerox stock opened at $3.30 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $415.24 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.31 and a beta of 1.81. The stock's 50-day moving average is $3.81 and its 200-day moving average is $4.55. Xerox has a one year low of $3.16 and a one year high of $11.29. 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 - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The information technology services provider reported ($0.64) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.07 by ($0.71). Xerox had a negative net margin of 21.24% and a positive return on equity of 7.57%. The firm's revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.29 earnings per share. Xerox has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. Equities analysts predict that Xerox will post 1.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Xerox Announces Dividend

The company 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. This represents a $0.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 30th. Xerox's payout ratio is -0.87%.

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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