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

Deluxe Co. (NYSE:DLX)’s share price reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $18.45 and last traded at $18.68, with a volume of 234542 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $20.02.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on DLX shares. Sidoti raised shares of Deluxe to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com cut shares of Deluxe from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday.

Deluxe Trading Down 6.1 %

The company has a 50-day moving average price of $22.70 and a 200 day moving average price of $21.29. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $831.83 million, a P/E ratio of 15.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.52.

Deluxe (NYSE:DLX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The business services provider reported $0.75 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.80 by ($0.05). Deluxe had a net margin of 2.58% and a return on equity of 21.15%. On average, research analysts forecast that Deluxe Co. will post 2.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Deluxe Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.39%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. Deluxe’s dividend payout ratio is currently 96.77%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Deluxe news, CEO Barry C. Mccarthy purchased 2,290 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were bought at an average price of $23.57 per share, for a total transaction of $53,975.30. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 180,960 shares in the company, valued at $4,265,227.20. This represents a 1.28 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 4.23% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Deluxe

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in Deluxe by 16.5% in the third quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 186,766 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,640,000 after purchasing an additional 26,473 shares during the last quarter. Arjuna Capital purchased a new position in shares of Deluxe during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,490,000. Jane Street Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Deluxe by 10.0% in the 3rd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 115,280 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,247,000 after purchasing an additional 10,447 shares during the period. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in Deluxe by 73.2% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 148,447 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,893,000 after buying an additional 62,715 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Deluxe by 1.7% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,028,079 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $20,041,000 after buying an additional 17,583 shares during the period. 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.