Deluxe (NYSE:DLX) Hits New 52-Week Low – Here’s What Happened

Deluxe Co. (NYSE:DLX) hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $17.92 and last traded at $18.37, with a volume of 454726 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $18.56.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Sidoti upgraded shares of Deluxe to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com cut Deluxe from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th.

Deluxe Stock Performance

The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $22.31 and its 200-day moving average price is $21.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The stock has a market cap of $813.24 million, a P/E ratio of 15.57, a PEG ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 1.52.

Deluxe (NYSE:DLX) last announced 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%. Sell-side analysts expect that Deluxe Co. will post 3.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Deluxe Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. Deluxe’s payout ratio is presently 101.69%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Deluxe news, CEO Barry C. Mccarthy acquired 2,290 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $23.57 per share, with a total value of $53,975.30. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 180,960 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,265,227.20. This represents a 1.28 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 4.23% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Deluxe

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Round Hill Asset Management increased its stake in Deluxe by 1.0% during the third quarter. Round Hill Asset Management now owns 50,058 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $976,000 after acquiring an additional 485 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Deluxe by 93.7% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,104 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 534 shares during the period. Hudson Edge Investment Partners Inc. increased its position in shares of Deluxe by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. Hudson Edge Investment Partners Inc. now owns 18,384 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $415,000 after purchasing an additional 860 shares during the last quarter. Swiss National Bank raised its holdings in Deluxe by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 87,000 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,965,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC lifted its position in Deluxe by 57.2% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,206 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $62,000 after buying an additional 1,166 shares during the last quarter. 93.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.