Deluxe (NYSE:DLX) Hits New 1-Year High at $24.55

Shares of Deluxe Co. (NYSE:DLX) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $24.55 and last traded at $24.51, with a volume of 102530 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $24.01.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on DLX. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Deluxe from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 20th. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Deluxe from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 14th. Finally, Northcoast Research began coverage on shares of Deluxe in a research note on Friday, April 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $27.00 target price for the company.

Deluxe Stock Up 0.5 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $1.06 billion, a PE ratio of 31.61, a PEG ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 1.47. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $22.42 and its 200-day moving average is $20.91. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.53.

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

Deluxe Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 20th were issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 17th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.99%. Deluxe’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 155.85%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Deluxe

In other Deluxe news, CEO Barry C. Mccarthy acquired 2,440 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 10th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $21.63 per share, with a total value of $52,777.20. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 175,850 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,803,635.50. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Over the last three months, insiders purchased 2,675 shares of company stock valued at $58,063. Corporate insiders own 4.23% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of DLX. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System boosted its position in Deluxe by 2.8% during the second quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 22,200 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $499,000 after acquiring an additional 600 shares during the last quarter. Security National Bank acquired a new stake in Deluxe during the second quarter worth approximately $40,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in Deluxe by 51.2% during the second quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 40,184 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $903,000 after acquiring an additional 13,600 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC boosted its position in 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 acquiring an additional 1,489 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale boosted its position in Deluxe by 127.7% during the first quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 22,766 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $465,000 after acquiring an additional 12,766 shares during the last quarter. 93.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.