Deluxe (NYSE:DLX) Trading 18.4% Higher on Earnings Beat

Deluxe Corporation (NYSE:DLX) was up 18.4% on Thursday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock traded as high as $19.14 and last traded at $18.99. Approximately 183,554 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 51% from the average daily volume of 373,347 shares. The stock had previously closed at $16.03.

The business services provider reported $0.88 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.71 by $0.17. Deluxe had a net margin of 2.75% and a return on equity of 21.30%. The business had revenue of $521.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $526.93 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.86 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.1% on a year-over-year basis.

Deluxe Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 18th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.2%. Deluxe’s payout ratio is 96.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. TD Securities dropped their price objective on Deluxe from $33.00 to $23.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Deluxe in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Deluxe from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Deluxe

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Strs Ohio acquired a new position in shares of Deluxe in the first quarter valued at approximately $30,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Deluxe by 1,067.0% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,229 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 2,038 shares during the period. Security National Bank raised its holdings in Deluxe by 97.8% in the 1st quarter. Security National Bank now owns 3,567 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $56,000 after acquiring an additional 1,764 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP lifted its stake in shares of Deluxe by 105.8% during the 1st quarter. Quarry LP now owns 3,685 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 1,894 shares during the period. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Deluxe by 11.2% during the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 7,874 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $124,000 after purchasing an additional 790 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

Deluxe Stock Up 19.8%

The firm has a market cap of $859.10 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.89, a PEG ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 1.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.34. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $15.92 and a 200-day moving average price of $16.42.

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.