Deluxe (NYSE:DLX) Cut to “Buy” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Deluxe (NYSE:DLX) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Saturday.

Separately, Sidoti upgraded Deluxe to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th.

Deluxe Trading Up 1.2 %

Deluxe stock opened at $16.03 on Friday. Deluxe has a 1 year low of $15.13 and a 1 year high of $24.87. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $19.45 and its 200-day moving average price is $20.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The stock has a market cap of $716.59 million, a P/E ratio of 13.58, a PEG ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 1.46.

Deluxe (NYSE:DLX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The business services provider reported $0.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.80 by ($0.05). Deluxe had a net margin of 2.49% and a return on equity of 21.33%. On average, equities analysts predict that Deluxe will post 2.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Deluxe Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.49%. Deluxe’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 101.69%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Barry C. Mccarthy bought 3,926 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $16.45 per share, for a total transaction of $64,582.70. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 272,851 shares in the company, valued at $4,488,398.95. This trade represents a 1.46 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 4.23% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Deluxe

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Wealthfront Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Deluxe in the fourth quarter valued at $220,326,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Deluxe by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,260,552 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $118,836,000 after purchasing an additional 64,060 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Deluxe by 8.1% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,361,658 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $53,351,000 after purchasing an additional 177,534 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Deluxe by 1.1% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,695,132 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $33,038,000 after purchasing an additional 18,133 shares during the last quarter. Finally, William Blair Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Deluxe by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 1,280,259 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $28,921,000 after buying an additional 31,288 shares during the period. 93.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.