Deluxe (NYSE:DLX) Reaches New 1-Year Low – What’s Next?

Deluxe Co. (NYSE:DLX) shares reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $15.07 and last traded at $15.20, with a volume of 316519 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $16.25.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on DLX. Sidoti raised shares of Deluxe to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com cut shares of Deluxe from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 26th.

Deluxe Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $678.36 million, a P/E ratio of 12.86, a P/E/G ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $17.83 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $20.18.

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

Deluxe Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.91%. Deluxe’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 101.69%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Barry C. Mccarthy acquired 3,926 shares of Deluxe stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $16.45 per share, with a total value of $64,582.70. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 272,851 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,488,398.95. This trade represents a 1.46 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 5.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Deluxe by 34.9% in the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 50,246 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $979,000 after acquiring an additional 12,992 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its stake in Deluxe by 57.2% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,206 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 1,166 shares during the period. Verition Fund Management LLC purchased a new position in Deluxe in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $262,000. Quarry LP boosted its stake in Deluxe by 2,770.0% in the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 6,314 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $123,000 after purchasing an additional 6,094 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp grew its holdings in Deluxe by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,695,132 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $33,038,000 after buying an additional 18,133 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

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.