Deluxe (NYSE:DLX) Shares Gap Up to $18.95

Deluxe Co. (NYSE:DLX)’s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $18.95, but opened at $19.65. Deluxe shares last traded at $19.49, with a volume of 26,276 shares.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Northcoast Research began coverage on shares of Deluxe in a research note on Friday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $27.00 price objective on the stock.

Deluxe Stock Up 4.5 %

The company’s 50 day moving average price is $19.68 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $19.31. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.49. The stock has a market cap of $868.23 million, a P/E ratio of 32.12, a PEG ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 1.49.

Deluxe (NYSE:DLX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The business services provider reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.75 by $0.05. Deluxe had a net margin of 1.20% and a return on equity of 21.53%. The company had revenue of $537.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $537.80 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.98 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Deluxe Co. will post 2.78 earnings per share for the current year.

Deluxe Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 16th. Deluxe’s payout ratio is 203.39%.

Insider Transactions at Deluxe

In other Deluxe news, CEO Barry C. Mccarthy bought 2,666 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $19.25 per share, for a total transaction of $51,320.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 173,410 shares in the company, valued at $3,338,142.50. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 4.23% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Deluxe

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Deluxe by 19.1% in the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 3,061 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $93,000 after acquiring an additional 491 shares in the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors raised its holdings in shares of Deluxe by 25.6% in the second quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 2,799 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $61,000 after acquiring an additional 570 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP raised its holdings in shares of Deluxe by 50.9% in the first quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,135 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 720 shares in the last quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky raised its holdings in Deluxe by 5.9% in the second quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 13,465 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $236,000 after purchasing an additional 756 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc raised its holdings in Deluxe by 0.6% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 128,861 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,792,000 after purchasing an additional 770 shares in the last quarter. 93.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.