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

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

Deluxe Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:DLX traded down $0.04 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $20.01. The company had a trading volume of 102,178 shares, compared to its average volume of 228,384. The company has a market cap of $881.36 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.99, a PEG ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 1.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.44, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.87. The company has a fifty day moving average of $21.03 and a two-hundred day moving average of $21.04. Deluxe has a 12-month low of $16.00 and a 12-month high of $24.87.

Deluxe (NYSE:DLX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The business services provider reported $0.86 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.29. The firm had revenue of $537.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $537.90 million. Deluxe had a net margin of 1.78% and a return on equity of 20.90%. The company’s revenue was down 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.83 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Deluxe will post 2.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Deluxe Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Transactions at Deluxe

In related news, CEO Barry C. Mccarthy purchased 2,820 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $19.08 per share, with a total value of $53,805.60. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 178,670 shares in the company, valued at $3,409,023.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 4.23% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Deluxe

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Deluxe by 3.4% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,167,850 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $106,406,000 after acquiring an additional 171,998 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management lifted its holdings in shares of Deluxe by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 2,112,423 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $47,445,000 after acquiring an additional 21,752 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Deluxe by 6.4% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,040,327 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $45,824,000 after purchasing an additional 123,361 shares during the period. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. grew its holdings in Deluxe by 3.4% during the 2nd quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 1,907,463 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $42,842,000 after purchasing an additional 62,525 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in Deluxe by 3.4% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 813,712 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $18,276,000 after purchasing an additional 27,111 shares during the period. 93.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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.