Deluxe (NYSE:DLX) Shares Cross Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average - Should You Sell?

Shares of Deluxe Corporation (NYSE:DLX - Get Free Report) passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Tuesday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $16.67 and traded as high as $19.37. Deluxe shares last traded at $19.01, with a volume of 241,644 shares.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DLX has been the topic of several analyst reports. Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of Deluxe in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Wall Street Zen cut Deluxe from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Deluxe in a research note on Saturday, September 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Deluxe currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $23.00.

Deluxe Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $853.17 million, a P/E ratio of 14.74, a P/E/G ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 1.51. The business's fifty day moving average is $19.01 and its 200 day moving average is $16.67. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.24.

Deluxe (NYSE:DLX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The business services provider reported $0.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.71 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $521.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $526.93 million. Deluxe had a return on equity of 21.12% and a net margin of 2.75%.The firm's revenue was down 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.86 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Deluxe Corporation will post 2.77 EPS for the current year.

Deluxe Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 18th were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 18th. Deluxe's payout ratio is presently 93.02%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Deluxe

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Strs Ohio acquired a new stake in Deluxe during the 1st quarter valued at $30,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Deluxe during the second quarter valued at $31,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Deluxe by 1,067.0% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,229 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 2,038 shares during the period. Security National Bank raised its position in Deluxe by 97.8% during the first quarter. Security National Bank now owns 3,567 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $56,000 after buying an additional 1,764 shares during the period. Finally, Quarry LP raised its position in Deluxe by 105.8% during the first quarter. Quarry LP now owns 3,685 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $58,000 after buying an additional 1,894 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.90% of the company's stock.

About Deluxe

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.

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