Deluxe (NYSE:DLX) Downgraded by StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Deluxe (NYSE:DLX) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Thursday morning.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Northcoast Research assumed coverage on shares of Deluxe in a research note on Friday, April 19th. They issued a buy rating and a $27.00 price target for the company. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Deluxe from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 14th.

Deluxe Stock Down 1.6 %

DLX opened at $21.52 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $21.45 and a 200-day moving average price of $20.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $947.96 million, a P/E ratio of 27.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 1.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.53, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.88. Deluxe has a one year low of $15.79 and a one year high of $24.00.

Deluxe (NYSE:DLX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The business services provider reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.07. Deluxe had a net margin of 1.57% and a return on equity of 21.33%. The company had revenue of $535.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $527.45 million. Equities research analysts expect that Deluxe will post 2.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Deluxe Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, May 20th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.58%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 17th. Deluxe’s dividend payout ratio is currently 155.85%.

Insider Activity at Deluxe

In related news, CEO Barry C. Mccarthy purchased 2,440 shares of Deluxe stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 10th. The shares were bought at an average price of $21.63 per share, for a total transaction of $52,777.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 175,850 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,803,635.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders have purchased 2,675 shares of company stock worth $58,063 over the last 90 days. 4.23% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Deluxe

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of DLX. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in shares of Deluxe by 20.5% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 35,897 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $679,000 after buying an additional 6,102 shares in the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund raised its position in Deluxe by 5.8% in the third quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 35,529 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $671,000 after acquiring an additional 1,960 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank raised its position in Deluxe by 1.4% in the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 95,500 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,804,000 after acquiring an additional 1,300 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Deluxe by 1.6% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,083,704 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $20,471,000 after acquiring an additional 17,180 shares during the period. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp raised its position in Deluxe by 37.1% in the third quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 23,935 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $452,000 after acquiring an additional 6,472 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.