Deluxe (NYSE:DLX) Reaches New 1-Year Low – Time to Sell?

Deluxe Co. (NYSE:DLX)’s stock price reached a new 52-week low on Thursday . The stock 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.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DLX has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Sidoti raised shares of Deluxe to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com cut shares of Deluxe from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th.

Deluxe Trading Down 1.0 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $813.24 million, a P/E ratio of 15.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 1.52. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $22.31 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $21.12. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36.

Deluxe (NYSE:DLX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The business services provider reported $0.75 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.80 by ($0.05). Deluxe had a net margin of 2.49% and a return on equity of 21.33%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Deluxe Co. will post 3.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Deluxe Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Barry C. Mccarthy purchased 2,290 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $23.57 per share, for a total transaction of $53,975.30. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 180,960 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,265,227.20. The trade was a 1.28 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 4.23% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Deluxe

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in DLX. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Deluxe during the third quarter valued at about $222,000. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale lifted its position in Deluxe by 378.0% during the third quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 25,291 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $480,000 after acquiring an additional 20,000 shares during the last quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System boosted its stake in Deluxe by 5.9% in the third quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 76,563 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,492,000 after acquiring an additional 4,277 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Deluxe by 4.8% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 99,066 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,931,000 after purchasing an additional 4,517 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arjuna Capital acquired a new position in shares of Deluxe during the third quarter worth $1,490,000. Institutional investors own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

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.