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

Xerox Holdings Co. (NASDAQ:XRX) saw unusually large options trading activity on Thursday. Stock traders bought 10,301 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 130% compared to the average daily volume of 4,479 call options.

Xerox Price Performance

Xerox stock traded up $0.73 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $3.37. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 15,297,203 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,750,198. Xerox has a fifty-two week low of $1.19 and a fifty-two week high of $5.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 14.04, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 1.18. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $3.00 and its 200 day simple moving average is $2.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $441.12 million, a PE ratio of -0.42 and a beta of 2.40.

Xerox (NASDAQ:XRX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The information technology services provider reported ($0.11) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.20) by $0.09. The business had revenue of $1.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.78 billion. Xerox had a negative net margin of 14.09% and a negative return on equity of 12.08%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 26.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.06) EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Xerox will post 0.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Xerox Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.025 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $0.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. Xerox’s payout ratio is currently -1.20%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in XRX. S Harris Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Xerox during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Xerox in the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Captrust Financial Advisors purchased a new position in Xerox in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Williams & Novak LLC acquired a new position in Xerox during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Finally, Arkadios Wealth Advisors acquired a new position in Xerox during the fourth quarter worth $35,000. 85.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on XRX shares. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Xerox from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Xerox in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Xerox presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $2.50.

Xerox Company Profile

Xerox Holdings Corporation (NYSE: XRX) is a global provider of document management technology and services. The company designs and manufactures a broad range of multifunction printers, production printers, digital presses and related consumables. In addition to its hardware offerings, Xerox delivers software and workflow automation solutions, managed print services and cloud-based document platforms that help organizations optimize their information-intensive processes.

Founded in 1906 as The Haloid Photographic Company, Xerox pioneered xerographic imaging in the late 1940s, launching the first plain-paper copier in 1959.