Deluxe Corporation (NYSE:DLX) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Deluxe Corporation (NYSE:DLX) have been assigned an average rating of “Buy” from the five ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, three have issued a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $23.00.

Several research firms have weighed in on DLX. Wall Street Zen raised Deluxe from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 8th. CJS Securities upgraded shares of Deluxe to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Deluxe from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Deluxe from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 10th.

Institutional Trading of Deluxe

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in shares of Deluxe by 3,597.9% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,738 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 1,691 shares during the period. Strs Ohio acquired a new stake in shares of Deluxe in the 1st quarter valued at about $30,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Deluxe in the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Deluxe in the fourth quarter valued at about $45,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Deluxe by 33.9% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,179 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 552 shares during the period. 93.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Deluxe Stock Performance

Shares of Deluxe stock opened at $27.72 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $24.95 and a two-hundred day moving average of $21.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.08, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.74, a PEG ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.41. Deluxe has a 52 week low of $13.61 and a 52 week high of $28.60.

Deluxe Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 23rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 9th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 9th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.3%. Deluxe’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 63.83%.

About Deluxe

Deluxe Corporation, founded in 1915 and headquartered in Shoreview, Minnesota, is a provider of integrated business and financial technology solutions. Originally established as a check printing company, Deluxe has evolved its offerings to support small businesses, financial institutions and entrepreneurs with a comprehensive suite of services spanning print, digital and software platforms.

The company’s core business activities include printing checks, forms and promotional materials, as well as delivering digital marketing and customer engagement solutions.