Empowered Funds LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Deluxe Corporation $DLX

Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in shares of Deluxe Corporation (NYSE:DLX) by 79.5% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 442,099 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 195,749 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Deluxe were worth $12,175,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Deluxe by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,955,732 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $110,661,000 after purchasing an additional 35,030 shares during the last quarter. Towle & Co. bought a new stake in shares of Deluxe during the 1st quarter worth $7,963,000. Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Deluxe by 136.4% in the 4th quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 57,277 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,279,000 after buying an additional 33,050 shares during the last quarter. Versor Investments LP boosted its holdings in shares of Deluxe by 268.1% in the 4th quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 39,681 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $886,000 after buying an additional 28,900 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp grew its position in Deluxe by 138.8% during the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 63,910 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,760,000 after buying an additional 37,152 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on DLX shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Deluxe from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, June 6th. Zacks Research cut shares of Deluxe from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Deluxe from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold”.

Deluxe Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE DLX opened at $27.19 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.98, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.24 billion, a PE ratio of 11.62, a P/E/G ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 1.24. Deluxe Corporation has a one year low of $15.41 and a one year high of $32.07. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $24.25 and its 200-day moving average price is $26.00.

Deluxe (NYSE:DLX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The business services provider reported $1.05 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $538.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $534.97 million. Deluxe had a return on equity of 24.11% and a net margin of 5.01%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.75 EPS. Deluxe has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.600-4.000 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Deluxe Corporation will post 3.3 EPS for the current year.

Deluxe Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 19th were paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.4%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 19th. Deluxe’s dividend payout ratio is presently 51.28%.

Deluxe Profile

Deluxe Corporation, founded in 1915 and headquartered in Shoreview, Minnesota, is a provider of integrated business and financial technology solutions. Originally established as a check printing company, Deluxe has evolved its offerings to support small businesses, financial institutions and entrepreneurs with a comprehensive suite of services spanning print, digital and software platforms.

The company’s core business activities include printing checks, forms and promotional materials, as well as delivering digital marketing and customer engagement solutions.