Deluxe (NYSE:DLX) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Deluxe (NYSE:DLX) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a report released on Friday morning.

Separately, Sidoti raised Deluxe to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th.

Deluxe Trading Up 2.4 %

NYSE DLX opened at $16.36 on Friday. Deluxe has a 12 month low of $15.13 and a 12 month high of $24.87. The company has a market capitalization of $726.89 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 1.46. 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 firm’s fifty day moving average price is $20.38 and its 200 day moving average price is $20.71.

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%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Deluxe will post 2.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Deluxe Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. Deluxe’s payout ratio is currently 101.69%.

Institutional Trading of Deluxe

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wealthfront Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Deluxe in the 4th quarter worth about $220,326,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Deluxe by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,260,552 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $118,836,000 after purchasing an additional 64,060 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Deluxe by 8.1% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,361,658 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $53,351,000 after purchasing an additional 177,534 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 18,133 shares in the last quarter. Finally, William Blair Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Deluxe by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 1,280,259 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $28,921,000 after purchasing an additional 31,288 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.