Deluxe (NYSE:DLX) Lowered to “Buy” Rating by StockNews.com

Deluxe (NYSE:DLX) was downgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued on Saturday.

Separately, Sidoti upgraded Deluxe to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th.

Deluxe Trading Up 1.3 %

DLX stock opened at $15.83 on Friday. Deluxe has a 1-year low of $15.13 and a 1-year high of $24.87. The firm has a market cap of $703.12 million, a P/E ratio of 13.41, a P/E/G ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 1.46. The business’s 50 day moving average is $19.72 and its 200-day moving average is $20.58. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36.

Deluxe (NYSE:DLX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The business services provider reported $0.75 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.80 by ($0.05). Deluxe had a net margin of 2.49% and a return on equity of 21.33%. Equities analysts anticipate that Deluxe will post 2.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Deluxe news, CEO Barry C. Mccarthy purchased 3,926 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $16.45 per share, for a total transaction of $64,582.70. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 272,851 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,488,398.95. The trade was a 1.46 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 4.23% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Deluxe

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of DLX. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new position in Deluxe during the 4th quarter worth $2,565,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its holdings in Deluxe by 99.5% during the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 52,040 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,176,000 after buying an additional 25,961 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in Deluxe by 15.7% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 100,719 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,275,000 after buying an additional 13,683 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP lifted its holdings in Deluxe by 19.7% during the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 15,200 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $343,000 after buying an additional 2,500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Deluxe during the 4th quarter worth $301,000. 93.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.