Deluxe (NYSE:DLX) Stock Lifted to Buy by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded Deluxe to Buy from Hold. Analysts’ overall consensus is Moderate Buy, with an average price target of $31.
• Deluxe reported quarterly EPS of $1.06, beating the $0.95 consensus, and revenue of $553.9 million, above expectations; revenue rose 2.5% year over year.
• Shares opened at $26.64, while institutional ownership stood at 93.9%; Russell Investments increased its stake by 23.4% in the third quarter.

Deluxe (NYSE:DLX - Get Free Report) was upgraded by Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note issued to investors on Sunday, Wall Street Zen reports.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on the company. Barrington Research assumed coverage on Deluxe in a research note on Tuesday, September 29th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $31.00 target price on the stock. Weiss Ratings raised Deluxe from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $31.00.

Deluxe Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:DLX opened at $26.64 on Friday. The company's fifty day moving average price is $23.46 and its 200-day moving average price is $25.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.88, a PEG ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 1.29. Deluxe has a one year low of $18.56 and a one year high of $32.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.81, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.08.

Deluxe (NYSE:DLX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 4th. The business services provider reported $1.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.95 by $0.11. Deluxe had a net margin of 3.90% and a return on equity of 23.02%. The firm had revenue of $553.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $532.67 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.09 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Deluxe will post 3.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Deluxe

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its position in Deluxe by 23.4% during the 3rd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 588,546 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $13,519,000 after purchasing an additional 111,510 shares during the last quarter. Kendall Capital Management lifted its holdings in Deluxe by 9.6% in the 3rd quarter. Kendall Capital Management now owns 86,371 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,984,000 after buying an additional 7,595 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new stake in Deluxe in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $62,000. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI bought a new stake in shares of Deluxe in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $244,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in shares of Deluxe in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $14,739,000. 93.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Deluxe

Deluxe Corporation is a provider of payments, marketing and business technology solutions serving small businesses, financial institutions and consumers. The company's offerings include checks and related forms, business supplies, promotional products, website and digital marketing services, customer relationship management tools, data-driven marketing solutions and payment processing services.

Deluxe also provides receivables management, fraud prevention and other financial technology services designed to help businesses and financial institutions manage transactions and customer relationships.

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