Xerox (NYSE:XRX) Stock Price Up 7.5% – Should You Buy?

Xerox Holdings Co. (NYSE:XRX) shares rose 7.5% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $9.10 and last traded at $9.04. Approximately 465,191 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 78% from the average daily volume of 2,102,476 shares. The stock had previously closed at $8.41.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on XRX. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Xerox from $10.00 to $8.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. StockNews.com raised Xerox from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Xerox from $11.00 to $8.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $9.50.

Xerox Stock Up 4.8 %

The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.11. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $8.72 and its 200-day simple moving average is $10.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.10 billion, a PE ratio of -0.80 and a beta of 1.59.

Xerox (NYSE:XRX) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The information technology services provider reported $0.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.51 by ($0.26). The business had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.63 billion. Xerox had a negative net margin of 21.31% and a positive return on equity of 6.60%. The business’s revenue was down 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.46 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Xerox Holdings Co. will post 1.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Xerox Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 11.35%. Xerox’s payout ratio is -9.06%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Xerox

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Gladius Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Xerox during the third quarter valued at about $29,000. US Bancorp DE lifted its stake in Xerox by 42.3% in the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 6,353 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $66,000 after purchasing an additional 1,888 shares in the last quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd boosted its holdings in Xerox by 45.0% in the 2nd quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 9,346 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $109,000 after purchasing an additional 2,899 shares during the period. CWM LLC increased its holdings in shares of Xerox by 381.3% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 10,897 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $113,000 after purchasing an additional 8,633 shares during the period. Finally, Algert Global LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Xerox in the second quarter worth $138,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.36% of the company’s stock.

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.