Xerox (NYSE:XRX) Downgraded by StockNews.com to “Hold”

StockNews.com lowered shares of Xerox (NYSE:XRX) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Wednesday morning.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on XRX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Xerox from $11.00 to $8.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Loop Capital reduced their price objective on Xerox from $14.00 to $11.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Xerox from $10.00 to $8.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and two have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $9.50.

Xerox Price Performance

XRX stock opened at $8.60 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $1.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.78 and a beta of 1.59. Xerox has a fifty-two week low of $8.02 and a fifty-two week high of $19.78. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.11. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $9.41 and a 200 day moving average price of $10.88.

Xerox (NYSE:XRX) last issued 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). Xerox had a negative net margin of 21.31% and a positive return on equity of 6.60%. The company had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.63 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.46 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Xerox will post 1.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Xerox Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 11.63%. Xerox’s payout ratio is -9.06%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Xerox

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its position in Xerox by 33.2% in the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 16,969,127 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $176,140,000 after buying an additional 4,228,806 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Xerox by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,808,775 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $29,161,000 after acquiring an additional 62,947 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Xerox by 6.7% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,719,607 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $17,850,000 after acquiring an additional 107,580 shares in the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC increased its stake in shares of Xerox by 27.9% during the third quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 1,033,506 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $10,728,000 after acquiring an additional 225,617 shares during the period. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Xerox by 9.5% during the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 796,609 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $8,269,000 after purchasing an additional 69,183 shares in the last quarter. 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.