Xerox's Earnings to Rise, But Still Depressed

Xerox(XRX Quote), the document-equipment company whose stock has fallen three times as much as the S&P 500 this year, isn't quickly recovering from a profit slump. Just on Friday, it lowered its first-quarter earnings expectations.

Xerox said EPS will be 3 cents to 5 cents a share, compared with previous guidance of 16 cents to 20 cents.

Before the announcement, TheStreet.com Ratings' quantitative model had assigned Xerox a "risk grade" of D on a scale from A-plus to E-minus. The model, programmed to conduct an objective analysis of a company's valuation metrics, financial situation, analyst consensus expectations of growth as well as the volatility of its stock price, has Xerox's "overall grade" as a C, equivalent to a "hold" recommendation. ...