Deluxe (NYSE:DLX) Downgraded by StockNews.com to “Buy”

StockNews.com lowered shares of Deluxe (NYSE:DLX) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Wednesday morning.

Separately, Sidoti raised Deluxe to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th.

Deluxe Stock Performance

NYSE:DLX opened at $15.99 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $714.85 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36. The company has a 50-day moving average of $18.62 and a 200-day moving average of $20.33. Deluxe has a twelve month low of $15.13 and a twelve month high of $24.87.

Deluxe (NYSE:DLX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The business services provider reported $0.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.80 by ($0.05). Deluxe had a net margin of 2.49% and a return on equity of 21.33%. Analysts forecast that Deluxe will post 2.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Deluxe Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.51%. Deluxe’s payout ratio is presently 101.69%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Barry C. Mccarthy bought 3,926 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $16.45 per share, with a total value of $64,582.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 272,851 shares in the company, valued at $4,488,398.95. This represents a 1.46 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 5.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new stake in Deluxe in the fourth quarter valued at $2,565,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its holdings in Deluxe by 99.5% in the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 52,040 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,176,000 after buying an additional 25,961 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in shares of Deluxe by 15.7% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 100,719 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,275,000 after purchasing an additional 13,683 shares during the period. Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its stake in shares of Deluxe by 19.7% in the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 15,200 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $343,000 after acquiring an additional 2,500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Deluxe in the fourth quarter worth $301,000. 93.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.