Deluxe (NYSE:DLX) Stock Price Down 14.3% After Earnings Miss

Deluxe Co. (NYSE:DLX) shares were down 14.3% during trading on Thursday following a dissappointing earnings announcement. The company traded as low as $19.35 and last traded at $19.34. Approximately 66,425 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 75% from the average daily volume of 268,940 shares. The stock had previously closed at $22.58.

The business services provider reported $0.75 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.80 by ($0.05). Deluxe had a return on equity of 21.15% and a net margin of 2.58%.

Deluxe Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. Deluxe’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 96.77%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Sidoti upgraded Deluxe to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Deluxe from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Deluxe news, CEO Barry C. Mccarthy acquired 2,290 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $23.57 per share, with a total value of $53,975.30. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly 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 purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 4.23% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of DLX. State Street Corp raised its position in Deluxe by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,695,132 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $33,038,000 after purchasing an additional 18,133 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Deluxe by 1.7% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,028,079 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $20,041,000 after buying an additional 17,583 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in shares of Deluxe by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 231,624 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,232,000 after acquiring an additional 11,233 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Deluxe by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 214,690 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,850,000 after acquiring an additional 6,303 shares during the period. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lifted its stake in Deluxe by 16.5% in the third quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 186,766 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,640,000 after acquiring an additional 26,473 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

Deluxe Trading Down 11.2 %

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 company has a market capitalization of $887.39 million, a P/E ratio of 16.17, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.52. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $22.70 and its 200-day simple moving average is $21.29.

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.