Deluxe Co. (NYSE:DLX) Short Interest Up 6.6% in August

Deluxe Co. (NYSE:DLX) saw a large growth in short interest during the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,420,000 shares, a growth of 6.6% from the August 15th total of 2,270,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 247,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 9.8 days.

Deluxe Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:DLX traded down $0.04 on Tuesday, reaching $20.01. The company had a trading volume of 102,178 shares, compared to its average volume of 228,384. The firm has a market capitalization of $881.36 million, a PE ratio of 25.99, a PEG ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 1.47. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.44. Deluxe has a 52-week low of $16.00 and a 52-week high of $24.87. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $21.03 and its 200-day simple moving average is $21.04.

Deluxe (NYSE:DLX) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The business services provider reported $0.86 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.29. Deluxe had a net margin of 1.78% and a return on equity of 20.90%. The business had revenue of $537.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $537.90 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.83 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Deluxe will post 2.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Deluxe Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 19th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.00%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 19th. Deluxe’s payout ratio is presently 155.84%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com lowered shares of Deluxe from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Deluxe

In related news, CEO Barry C. Mccarthy bought 2,820 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $19.08 per share, for a total transaction of $53,805.60. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 178,670 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,409,023.60. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 4.23% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Deluxe

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in DLX. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Deluxe in the second quarter worth about $26,000. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Deluxe during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Ariadne Wealth Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Deluxe in the second quarter worth $35,000. CWM LLC lifted its stake in shares of Deluxe by 555.6% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,757 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 1,489 shares during the period. Finally, Security National Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Deluxe during the second quarter valued at $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

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.