Deluxe (NYSE:DLX) Downgraded by StockNews.com to Buy

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Deluxe (NYSE:DLX) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research report report published on Tuesday.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Northcoast Research initiated coverage on Deluxe in a research note on Friday, April 19th. They issued a buy rating and a $27.00 price objective for the company. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Deluxe from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 14th.

Deluxe Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE DLX traded down $0.15 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $19.09. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 213,521 shares, compared to its average volume of 233,096. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.44, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $840.84 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 1.47. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $22.20 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $21.06. Deluxe has a 1 year low of $16.00 and a 1 year high of $24.87.

Deluxe (NYSE:DLX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The business services provider reported $0.86 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.29. Deluxe had a net margin of 1.78% and a return on equity of 20.90%. The company had revenue of $537.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $537.90 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.83 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Deluxe will post 2.92 EPS for the current year.

Deluxe Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.29%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 19th. Deluxe’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 155.84%.

Insider Transactions at Deluxe

In other Deluxe news, CEO Barry C. Mccarthy bought 2,440 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 10th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $21.63 per share, with a total value of $52,777.20. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 175,850 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,803,635.50. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In the last ninety days, insiders acquired 3,098 shares of company stock valued at $67,798. 4.23% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Deluxe

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Deluxe by 3.4% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,167,850 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $106,406,000 after purchasing an additional 171,998 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Deluxe by 8.0% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,750,481 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $37,548,000 after buying an additional 130,357 shares during the last quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance acquired a new position in Deluxe during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,152,000. Boston Partners purchased a new stake in Deluxe in the first quarter valued at approximately $995,000. Finally, LSV Asset Management boosted its holdings in shares of Deluxe by 2.4% in the first quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 2,090,671 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $43,047,000 after acquiring an additional 48,067 shares during the period. 93.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Deluxe Company Profile

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.