Barrington Research Upgrades Deluxe (NYSE:DLX) to "Strong-Buy"

Key Points

• Barrington Research upgraded Deluxe to a “strong-buy” rating, although other analysts recently downgraded the stock to “hold.” The overall analyst consensus remains “Moderate Buy,” with an average price target of $31.00.
• Deluxe exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $0.87 in earnings per share versus the $0.81 estimate and revenue of $499.3 million versus $486.3 million expected. However, revenue declined 4.2% year over year.
• Deluxe shares opened at $23.53, giving the company a market capitalization of approximately $1.08 billion; institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.9% of its stock.

Deluxe (NYSE:DLX - Get Free Report) was upgraded by research analysts at Barrington Research to a "strong-buy" rating in a report issued on Tuesday, Zacks reports.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Deluxe from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Deluxe from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Deluxe presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $31.00.

Deluxe Stock Performance

NYSE DLX opened at $23.53 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.20. The stock's fifty day moving average is $24.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is $25.35. Deluxe has a fifty-two week low of $17.76 and a fifty-two week high of $32.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 1.25.

Deluxe (NYSE:DLX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The business services provider reported $0.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.81 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $499.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $486.30 million. Deluxe had a net margin of 4.91% and a return on equity of 23.51%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.88 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Deluxe will post 3.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Deluxe

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Deluxe by 3.8% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,753,203 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $75,823,000 after purchasing an additional 101,105 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in Deluxe during the second quarter worth $14,739,000. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in shares of Deluxe by 79.5% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 442,099 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $12,175,000 after acquiring an additional 195,749 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. lifted its position in shares of Deluxe by 189.4% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 367,278 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $10,115,000 after acquiring an additional 240,359 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in shares of Deluxe by 20.0% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 332,948 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $9,169,000 after acquiring an additional 55,429 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.90% of the company's stock.

Deluxe Company Profile

Deluxe Corporation NYSE: DLX is a provider of business services and financial technology solutions for small businesses, financial institutions, consumers and nonprofit organizations. The company is best known for producing personalized checks and business forms, but has expanded its offerings to include marketing, payments and data-driven business services.

Deluxe's products and services include printed checks and forms, promotional products, logo and website design, email and social media marketing, search engine optimization, and other solutions intended to help businesses attract and retain customers.

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