Deluxe (NYSE:DLX) Shares Gap Up to $18.95

Deluxe Co. (NYSE:DLX - Get Free Report)'s share price gapped up before the market opened on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $18.95, but opened at $19.65. Deluxe shares last traded at $19.49, with a volume of 26,276 shares traded.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Northcoast Research initiated coverage on Deluxe in a research report on Friday. They set a "buy" rating and a $27.00 target price for the company.

Deluxe Price Performance

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $19.67 and a two-hundred day moving average of $19.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $864.28 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.41, a PEG ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 1.49. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.49.

Deluxe (NYSE:DLX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The business services provider reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.75 by $0.05. Deluxe had a return on equity of 21.53% and a net margin of 1.20%. The firm had revenue of $537.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $537.80 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.98 EPS. The business's revenue was down 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Deluxe Co. will post 2.78 earnings per share for the current year.

Deluxe Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were given a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 16th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.09%. Deluxe's dividend payout ratio is currently 203.39%.

Insider Transactions at Deluxe

In related news, CEO Barry C. Mccarthy purchased 2,666 shares of Deluxe stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $19.25 per share, for a total transaction of $51,320.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 173,410 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,338,142.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 4.23% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. CWM LLC boosted its position in shares of Deluxe by 314.2% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,400 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 1,062 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP lifted its holdings in Deluxe by 50.9% during the first quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,135 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 720 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC bought a new position in Deluxe during the first quarter worth about $46,000. Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its holdings in Deluxe by 73.1% during the first quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 2,229 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $67,000 after acquiring an additional 941 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Deluxe by 19.1% during the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 3,061 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $93,000 after acquiring an additional 491 shares in the last quarter. 93.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.