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

Xerox Holdings Co. (NYSE:XRX) saw some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. Stock traders bought 1,689 put options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 1,369% compared to the typical volume of 115 put options.

Xerox Price Performance

Xerox stock opened at $13.77 on Thursday. Xerox has a 52-week low of $12.06 and a 52-week high of $18.00. The company’s 50 day moving average is $14.63 and its two-hundred day moving average is $14.98. The firm has a market cap of $1.69 billion, a PE ratio of 13.24 and a beta of 1.73. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98.

Xerox (NYSE:XRX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 24th. The information technology services provider reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.11. Xerox had a net margin of 2.55% and a return on equity of 11.59%. The business had revenue of $1.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.73 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.19 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Xerox will post 1.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Xerox Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 29th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 28th. Xerox’s payout ratio is currently 96.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Xerox

In other Xerox news, major shareholder Carl C. Icahn sold 34,245,314 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.84, for a total value of $542,445,773.76. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, major shareholder Carl C. Icahn sold 34,245,314 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.84, for a total value of $542,445,773.76. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Suzan Morno-Wade sold 9,126 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.75, for a total transaction of $152,860.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 46,323 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $775,910.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.38% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of XRX. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Xerox by 87.2% in the third quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,627 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 758 shares in the last quarter. Strs Ohio boosted its holdings in Xerox by 1.5% during the first quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 55,200 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $850,000 after buying an additional 800 shares in the last quarter. Toroso Investments LLC boosted its holdings in Xerox by 2.4% during the third quarter. Toroso Investments LLC now owns 33,866 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $531,000 after buying an additional 808 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its holdings in Xerox by 2.7% during the first quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 33,815 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $521,000 after buying an additional 892 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Versor Investments LP boosted its holdings in Xerox by 6.2% during the first quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 15,500 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $239,000 after buying an additional 900 shares in the last quarter. 83.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on XRX. StockNews.com raised shares of Xerox from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Xerox from $13.00 to $12.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Xerox from $16.00 to $15.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 25th.

About Xerox

Xerox Holdings Corporation, a workplace technology company, designs, develops, and sells document management systems and solutions in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, India, and internationally. It offers workplace solutions, including desktop monochrome, and color and multifunction printers; digital printing presses and light production devices, and solutions; and digital services that leverage workflow automation, personalization and communication software, content management solutions, and digitization services.