Deluxe (NYSE:DLX) Stock Price Down 14.3% Following Weak Earnings

Deluxe Co. (NYSE:DLX) fell 14.3% during mid-day trading on Thursday following a dissappointing earnings announcement. The company traded as low as $19.35 and last traded at $19.34. 66,425 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 75% from the average session volume of 268,940 shares. The stock had previously closed at $22.58.

The business services provider reported $0.75 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.80 by ($0.05). Deluxe had a return on equity of 21.15% and a net margin of 2.58%.

Deluxe Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.13%. Deluxe’s payout ratio is 96.77%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on DLX shares. Sidoti raised shares of Deluxe to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com upgraded Deluxe from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Barry C. Mccarthy bought 2,290 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $23.57 per share, with a total value of $53,975.30. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 180,960 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,265,227.20. This represents a 1.28 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 4.23% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Deluxe

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Millennium Management LLC boosted its position in Deluxe by 249.9% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 169,473 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,806,000 after acquiring an additional 121,042 shares during the last quarter. Arjuna Capital acquired a new position in shares of Deluxe in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,490,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Deluxe during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,770,000. Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Deluxe during the third quarter worth approximately $1,303,000. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its holdings in Deluxe by 73.2% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 148,447 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,893,000 after purchasing an additional 62,715 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

Deluxe Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $866.32 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.52. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $22.77 and a 200-day simple moving average of $21.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.38.

About Deluxe

Deluxe Corporation provides technology-enabled solutions to enterprises, small businesses, and financial institutions in the United States, Canada, and Australia. It operates through Merchant Services, B2B Payments, Data Solutions, and Print segments. The Merchant Services offers credit and debit card authorization and payment systems, as well as processing services primarily to small and medium-sized retail and service businesses.