Greg Major

When a company reports earnings, the reports are intensely examined by investors and analysts alike. Earnings are important because they can give insight into the profitability of a company. Covering Street analysts are looking for Xerox Corporation (NYSE:XRX) to report quarterly EPS of $0.27. The company is next expected to publish earnings on or around 2016-10-24 for the period ending 2016-09-30. 

Company earnings results have the capability of triggering near-term stock movements whether results hit or miss expectations. Prior to earnings, investors may be tracking directional trends of provided estimates. The company reported actual earnings per share for the previous quarter of $0.3. The Zacks Research consensus estimate before the earnings report was $0.25. The difference between the estimate and actual was $0.05 which created a surprise factor of 20%.

5 analysts polled by Zacks Research currently have a mean target price of $11.36 on shares. The analyst with the highest target price sees the stock hitting $13 and the lowest target estimate sees the stock touching $10.3 within the year. In looking at the standard deviation of all estimates, we arrive at 1.128. Zacks Research also uses an analyst ratings scale that ranges from 1 to 5. Using this scale, a 1 would represent a Strong Buy, and a 5 rating would indicate a Strong Sell rating. Using all the ratings on Xerox Corporation (NYSE:XRX), the mean sits at 2.67. Breaking those down we see that the ratings are as follows: 2 Strong Buy, 0 Rated Buy, 3 Rated Hold and 0 Rated Sell.

Analyst recommendations and estimates are for informational purposes only and should be used along with a number of other factors when considering an investment position. Part of the data in this report is derived from Zacks Research and FactSet.  Ratings and estimates change daily and thus the numbers may differ slightly if a new report has been issued within the last 24-hours.  The consensus numbers take into account the reports from over 160 brokerage firms.  The job of analysts is to issue recommendations for their clients, and not typically for the general public.  Analyst forecasts, earnings estimates and price target projections are issued to help their clients make money through stock investments.  We in no way are suggesting that readers make any decision on Xerox Corporation (NYSE:XRX) based on the information in this report.