Deluxe Co. (NYSE:DLX) Short Interest Up 6.6% in August

Deluxe Co. (NYSE:DLX) was the target of a large growth in short interest during the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,420,000 shares, a growth of 6.6% from the August 15th total of 2,270,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 247,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 9.8 days.

Deluxe Stock Up 0.4 %

DLX opened at $19.80 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.44. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $20.96 and its 200 day simple moving average is $21.03. Deluxe has a 52 week low of $16.00 and a 52 week high of $24.87. The stock has a market cap of $872.11 million, a PE ratio of 25.71, a P/E/G ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 1.47.

Deluxe (NYSE:DLX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The business services provider reported $0.86 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.29. The company had revenue of $537.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $537.90 million. Deluxe had a return on equity of 20.90% and a net margin of 1.78%. Deluxe’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.83 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Deluxe will post 2.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Deluxe Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 19th were paid a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 19th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.06%. Deluxe’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 155.84%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Deluxe news, CEO Barry C. Mccarthy purchased 2,820 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $19.08 per share, for a total transaction of $53,805.60. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 178,670 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,409,023.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 4.23% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Deluxe

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in DLX. Independent Advisor Alliance bought a new stake in Deluxe in the fourth quarter worth $1,152,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Deluxe by 6.6% in the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 584,592 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $12,037,000 after acquiring an additional 36,133 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners bought a new stake in shares of Deluxe in the 1st quarter valued at about $995,000. LSV Asset Management boosted its holdings in Deluxe by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 2,090,671 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $43,047,000 after acquiring an additional 48,067 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Deluxe by 3.4% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,167,850 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $106,406,000 after acquiring an additional 171,998 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com lowered shares of Deluxe from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th.

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.