Deluxe (NYSE:DLX) Upgraded 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 Thursday.

Deluxe Price Performance

NYSE DLX opened at $23.32 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.38, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.92. The business’s fifty day moving average is $21.46 and its 200 day moving average is $21.22. The company has a market capitalization of $1.03 billion, a PE ratio of 18.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.52. Deluxe has a fifty-two week low of $18.48 and a fifty-two week high of $24.87.

Deluxe Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 19th were issued a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.15%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 19th. Deluxe’s dividend payout ratio is 96.77%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Deluxe

In other Deluxe news, CEO Barry C. Mccarthy purchased 2,290 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $23.57 per share, for a total transaction of $53,975.30. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 180,960 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,265,227.20. This represents a 1.28 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 4.23% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Deluxe

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Deluxe by 6.4% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,040,327 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $45,824,000 after acquiring an additional 123,361 shares in the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. raised its stake in Deluxe by 16.5% during the third quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 186,766 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,640,000 after purchasing an additional 26,473 shares in the last quarter. Arjuna Capital bought a new position in Deluxe during the third quarter valued at $1,490,000. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. grew its position in Deluxe by 3.4% in the second quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 1,907,463 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $42,842,000 after acquiring an additional 62,525 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Deluxe by 249.9% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 169,473 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,806,000 after purchasing an additional 121,042 shares during the period. 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.