Deluxe (NYSE:DLX) Reaches New 52-Week Low – Should You Sell?

Shares of Deluxe Co. (NYSE:DLX) 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 trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $18.56.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Deluxe from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Sidoti raised shares of Deluxe to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th.

Deluxe Stock Up 1.6 %

The company has a market capitalization of $837.77 million, a PE ratio of 16.04, a P/E/G ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 1.52. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $22.13 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $21.07.

Deluxe (NYSE:DLX) last announced 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 net margin of 2.49% and a return on equity of 21.33%. Research analysts expect that Deluxe Co. will post 3.01 EPS for the current year.

Deluxe Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.34%. Deluxe’s payout ratio is currently 101.69%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Deluxe news, CEO Barry C. Mccarthy purchased 2,290 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $23.57 per share, for a total transaction of $53,975.30. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 180,960 shares in the company, valued at $4,265,227.20. This represents a 1.28 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 4.23% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Deluxe

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of DLX. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Deluxe in the third quarter valued at about $222,000. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale increased its holdings in Deluxe by 378.0% in the third quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 25,291 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $480,000 after buying an additional 20,000 shares in the last quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System lifted its position in shares of Deluxe by 5.9% during the 3rd 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 during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Deluxe by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 99,066 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,931,000 after acquiring an additional 4,517 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arjuna Capital acquired a new stake in shares of Deluxe in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,490,000. 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.