Xerox Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:XRX)

Xerox Holdings Co. (NYSE:XRX - Get Free Report) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Stock traders acquired 1,689 put options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 1,369% compared to the average daily volume of 115 put options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Xerox from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and two have given a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $9.50.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Xerox

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in Xerox by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,706,086 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $14,382,000 after acquiring an additional 94,779 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Xerox by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,763,679 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $132,888,000 after purchasing an additional 199,598 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp grew its stake in Xerox by 12.3% in the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 476,266 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $4,015,000 after purchasing an additional 52,104 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in Xerox by 8.2% in the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 606,748 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $5,115,000 after purchasing an additional 46,212 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Xerox by 5.4% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,812,102 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $15,276,000 after buying an additional 92,495 shares during the period. 85.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Xerox Trading Up 11.5 %

XRX traded up $0.50 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $4.84. 5,761,218 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,752,819. Xerox has a 52 week low of $3.45 and a 52 week high of $14.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.61, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $5.00 and a two-hundred day moving average of $7.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $608.75 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.45 and a beta of 1.56.

Xerox (NYSE:XRX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The information technology services provider reported ($0.06) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 firm's quarterly revenue was down 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.06 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Xerox will post 1.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Xerox Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st were paid a dividend of $0.125 per share. This represents a $0.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 10.33%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. Xerox's payout ratio is -4.66%.

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.