Deluxe (NYSE:DLX) Stock Rating Lowered by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded Deluxe from “buy” to “hold,” although the broader analyst consensus remains “Moderate Buy” with an average price target of $31.00.
• Deluxe’s shares opened at $22.56, down 1.6%, with a market capitalization of approximately $1.03 billion. The stock trades at a low 6.53 price-to-earnings ratio but carries a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02.
• The company exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $0.87 in EPS versus the $0.81 consensus and revenue of $499.3 million versus $486.3 million expected, despite revenue falling 4.2% year over year. Institutional investors own 93.9% of Deluxe’s stock.

Deluxe (NYSE:DLX - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report issued on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

DLX has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Barrington Research started coverage on Deluxe in a research report on Tuesday, September 29th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $31.00 price target for the company. Weiss Ratings raised Deluxe from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $31.00.

Deluxe Stock Down 1.6%

DLX opened at $22.56 on Friday. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $23.38 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $25.32. The company has a market capitalization of $1.03 billion, a PE ratio of 6.53, a PEG ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 1.25. Deluxe has a 1-year low of $17.76 and a 1-year high of $32.07. The company has a current ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02.

Deluxe (NYSE:DLX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The business services provider reported $0.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.81 by $0.06. Deluxe had a net margin of 4.91% and a return on equity of 23.51%. The firm had revenue of $499.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $486.30 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.88 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Deluxe will post 3.39 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Kendall Capital Management boosted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 7,595 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new position in Deluxe during the second quarter valued at $62,000. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI purchased a new position in shares of Deluxe during the second quarter valued at about $244,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in shares of Deluxe in the second quarter worth about $14,739,000. Finally, Wedge Capital Management L L P NC increased its holdings in shares of Deluxe by 14.9% in the second quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 106,897 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $2,553,000 after purchasing an additional 13,834 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.90% of the company's stock.

Deluxe Company Profile

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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