Deluxe Co. (NYSE:DLX) Short Interest Update

Deluxe Co. (NYSE:DLX) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest in November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 2,340,000 shares, a decrease of 6.8% from the November 15th total of 2,510,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 229,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 10.2 days.

Deluxe Price Performance

Deluxe stock opened at $23.27 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.38, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.92. Deluxe has a 52 week low of $18.48 and a 52 week high of $24.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.52. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $21.55 and a 200-day moving average of $21.22.

Deluxe Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 19th were issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 19th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.16%. Deluxe’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 96.77%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Barry C. Mccarthy acquired 2,290 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $23.57 per share, with a total value of $53,975.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 180,960 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,265,227.20. This trade represents a 1.28 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 4.23% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Deluxe

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in DLX. LSV Asset Management boosted its position in Deluxe by 1.0% in the second quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 2,112,423 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $47,445,000 after buying an additional 21,752 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Deluxe by 6.4% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,040,327 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $45,824,000 after acquiring an additional 123,361 shares during the last quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 62,525 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in Deluxe by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,695,132 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $33,038,000 after acquiring an additional 18,133 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Deluxe by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,028,079 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $20,041,000 after purchasing an additional 17,583 shares in the last quarter. 93.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com raised shares of Deluxe from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th.

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.