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

Deluxe Co. (NYSE:DLX)’s share price hit a new 52-week low during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $14.01 and last traded at $14.15, with a volume of 440753 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $14.86.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Sidoti upgraded shares of Deluxe to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com lowered Deluxe from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 26th.

Deluxe Stock Down 6.1 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.98. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $16.68 and its 200 day moving average is $19.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $638.56 million, a PE ratio of 12.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 1.41.

Deluxe (NYSE:DLX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The business services provider reported $0.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.80 by ($0.05). Deluxe had a return on equity of 21.33% and a net margin of 2.49%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Deluxe Co. will post 2.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Deluxe Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. Deluxe’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 101.69%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Barry C. Mccarthy bought 3,926 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $16.45 per share, with a total value of $64,582.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 272,851 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,488,398.95. The trade was a 1.46 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 5.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of DLX. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Deluxe by 93.7% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,104 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 534 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its position in shares of Deluxe by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 25,188 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $569,000 after purchasing an additional 835 shares during the last quarter. Hudson Edge Investment Partners Inc. lifted its position in shares of Deluxe by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. Hudson Edge Investment Partners Inc. now owns 18,384 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $415,000 after purchasing an additional 860 shares during the last quarter. Swiss National Bank increased its holdings in Deluxe by 1.2% in the fourth 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 last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC raised its stake in Deluxe by 57.2% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,206 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $62,000 after buying an additional 1,166 shares in the last quarter. 93.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.