Northcoast Research Initiates Coverage on Deluxe (NYSE:DLX)

Northcoast Research began coverage on shares of Deluxe (NYSE:DLX) in a research report sent to investors on Friday, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage issued a buy rating and a $27.00 target price on the business services provider’s stock.

Deluxe Stock Performance

NYSE DLX opened at $19.82 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.49, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.88. Deluxe has a 1 year low of $13.61 and a 1 year high of $21.97. The company has a market capitalization of $869.11 million, a PE ratio of 33.59, a P/E/G ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 1.48. The company has a fifty day moving average of $19.65 and a two-hundred day moving average of $19.34.

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

Deluxe Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 20th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 16th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.05%. Deluxe’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 203.39%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Barry C. Mccarthy purchased 2,666 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were bought at an average price of $19.25 per share, for a total transaction of $51,320.50. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 173,410 shares in the company, valued at $3,338,142.50. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 4.23% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Deluxe

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC acquired a new position in shares of Deluxe during the 1st quarter valued at $46,000. Quadrature Capital Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Deluxe in the 4th quarter worth about $220,000. Alberta Investment Management Corp grew its position in shares of Deluxe by 37.4% during the 4th quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp now owns 34,900 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $749,000 after buying an additional 9,500 shares during the last quarter. Olympiad Research LP bought a new stake in shares of Deluxe during the 4th quarter valued at about $289,000. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH grew its position in shares of Deluxe by 26.8% during the 4th quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 112,456 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,412,000 after buying an additional 23,799 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

Deluxe Company Profile

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.