Deluxe (NYSE:DLX) Reaches New 1-Year Low - Time to Sell?

Deluxe Co. (NYSE:DLX - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week low during trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $13.67 and last traded at $13.73, with a volume of 144530 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $13.96.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on DLX. Sidoti raised Deluxe to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. TD Securities cut their target price on shares of Deluxe from $33.00 to $23.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Deluxe from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th.

Deluxe Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $632.18 million, a PE ratio of 11.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 1.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36. The company's fifty day moving average is $15.11 and its 200 day moving average is $18.90.

Deluxe (NYSE:DLX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The business services provider reported $0.75 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.72 by $0.03. Deluxe had a net margin of 2.49% and a return on equity of 21.33%. The business had revenue of $536.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $525.43 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.76 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Deluxe Co. will post 2.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Deluxe Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be paid a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 19th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.49%. Deluxe's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 96.00%.

Insider Activity at Deluxe

In other Deluxe news, CEO Barry C. Mccarthy acquired 3,926 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $16.45 per share, for a total transaction of $64,582.70. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 272,851 shares in the company, valued at $4,488,398.95. This trade represents a 1.46% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 5.60% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Deluxe

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wealthfront Advisers LLC bought a new stake in Deluxe during the fourth quarter valued at $220,326,000. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of Deluxe during the first quarter worth about $5,281,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Deluxe by 8.1% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,361,658 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $53,351,000 after acquiring an additional 177,534 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Deluxe in the 4th quarter worth about $3,210,000. Finally, Prudential Financial Inc. lifted its position in Deluxe by 24.7% in the 4th quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 596,977 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $13,486,000 after purchasing an additional 118,300 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.90% of the company's stock.

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.