Deluxe (NYSE:DLX) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at Northcoast Research

Northcoast Research began coverage on shares of Deluxe (NYSE:DLX) in a report released on Friday morning, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage issued a buy rating and a $27.00 target price on the business services provider’s stock.

Deluxe Stock Performance

NYSE:DLX opened at $19.71 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $864.28 million, a PE ratio of 33.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 1.49. Deluxe has a fifty-two week low of $13.61 and a fifty-two week high of $21.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.49, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.93. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $19.67 and a 200-day moving average price of $19.32.

Deluxe (NYSE:DLX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The business services provider reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.75 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $537.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $537.80 million. Deluxe had a return on equity of 21.53% and a net margin of 1.20%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.98 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Deluxe will post 2.78 earnings per share for the current year.

Deluxe Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 20th were issued a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.09%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 16th. Deluxe’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 203.39%.

Insider Activity at Deluxe

In related news, CEO Barry C. Mccarthy purchased 2,666 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $19.25 per share, for a total transaction of $51,320.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 173,410 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,338,142.50. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 4.23% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Deluxe

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in DLX. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Deluxe during the fourth quarter valued at $6,739,000. Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in Deluxe by 81.3% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 462,075 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $10,013,000 after buying an additional 207,221 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Deluxe by 17.6% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,262,186 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $20,194,000 after buying an additional 188,788 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its position in Deluxe by 222.1% during the third quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 248,468 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,135,000 after buying an additional 171,327 shares during the period. Finally, BlackRock Inc. lifted its position in Deluxe by 2.0% during the second quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 7,228,883 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $126,361,000 after buying an additional 143,372 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.