Deluxe Co. (NYSE:DLX) Sees Significant Drop in Short Interest

Deluxe Co. (NYSE:DLX) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest in July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,280,000 shares, a drop of 9.5% from the July 15th total of 2,520,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 258,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 8.8 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DLX has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com cut shares of Deluxe from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Deluxe from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 14th.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Barry C. Mccarthy bought 2,440 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 10th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $21.63 per share, for a total transaction of $52,777.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 175,850 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,803,635.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders have acquired a total of 3,098 shares of company stock valued at $67,798 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 4.23% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Deluxe

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of DLX. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new position in Deluxe during the 4th quarter valued at $470,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its holdings in Deluxe by 32.9% in the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 8,026 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $172,000 after buying an additional 1,985 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund boosted its position in Deluxe by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 36,782 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $789,000 after acquiring an additional 1,253 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Deluxe by 13.6% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 101,865 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,185,000 after acquiring an additional 12,199 shares during the period. Finally, LSV Asset Management grew its holdings in shares of Deluxe by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 2,042,604 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $43,814,000 after acquiring an additional 14,900 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

Deluxe Price Performance

DLX traded up $0.11 on Friday, reaching $20.04. The company had a trading volume of 165,832 shares, compared to its average volume of 232,487. Deluxe has a 52-week low of $16.00 and a 52-week high of $24.87. The company has a market cap of $882.68 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.03, a P/E/G ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 1.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.44, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.97. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $21.90 and a 200 day simple moving average of $21.05.

Deluxe (NYSE:DLX) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The business services provider reported $0.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.29. The business had revenue of $537.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $537.90 million. Deluxe had a return on equity of 20.90% and a net margin of 1.78%. Deluxe’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.83 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Deluxe will post 2.92 EPS for the current year.

Deluxe Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 19th will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 19th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.99%. Deluxe’s payout ratio is 155.84%.

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.