Deluxe Corporation (NYSE:DLX) Short Interest Update

Key Points

• Short interest in Deluxe Corporation (NYSE:DLX) fell by 22.3% in August, totaling 2,690,000 shares, which is approximately 6.3% of the stock.
• Deluxe recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.30 per share, leading to an annualized dividend yield of 6.2%.
• The company reported earnings per share of $0.88 for the last quarter, surpassing estimates, despite a year-over-year revenue decline of 3.1%.

Deluxe Corporation (NYSE:DLX - Get Free Report) saw a significant decline in short interest in the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totaling 2,690,000 shares, a decline of 22.3% from the August 15th total of 3,460,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 370,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 7.3 days. Currently, 6.3% of the company's shares are sold short. Currently, 6.3% of the company's shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 370,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 7.3 days.

Deluxe Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:DLX traded down $0.55 on Friday, reaching $19.35. 1,126,476 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 299,040. The firm has a market cap of $868.29 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.24. The company has a 50-day moving average of $18.32 and a 200-day moving average of $16.39. Deluxe has a 1-year low of $13.61 and a 1-year high of $24.45.

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

Deluxe Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, August 18th were paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.2%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 18th. Deluxe's payout ratio is currently 93.02%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Deluxe from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Deluxe in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $23.00.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Deluxe

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. State of Wyoming raised its position in Deluxe by 37.2% in the second quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 22,761 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $362,000 after acquiring an additional 6,173 shares in the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its stake in Deluxe by 8.7% during the 2nd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 152,538 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $2,427,000 after acquiring an additional 12,162 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its stake in Deluxe by 476.6% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 8,148 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $130,000 after acquiring an additional 6,735 shares in the last quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP grew its stake in Deluxe by 66.3% during the 2nd quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 28,563 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $454,000 after acquiring an additional 11,392 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bridgeway Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Deluxe by 49.9% during the 2nd quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 634,447 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $10,094,000 after acquiring an additional 211,109 shares in the last quarter. 93.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.