Deluxe (NYSE:DLX) Reaches New 1-Year High – Here’s Why

Deluxe Corporation (NYSE:DLX)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $28.99 and last traded at $28.7930, with a volume of 67554 shares. The stock had previously closed at $27.54.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on DLX shares. CJS Securities raised shares of Deluxe to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Deluxe from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Deluxe from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $23.00.

Deluxe Stock Up 4.4%

The stock has a 50 day moving average of $27.19 and a 200-day moving average of $23.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.27, a PEG ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.08, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.04.

Deluxe Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 23rd. Investors of record on Monday, February 9th were paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.2%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 9th. Deluxe’s payout ratio is currently 63.83%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Deluxe

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of DLX. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Deluxe by 99.7% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 543,359 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $8,645,000 after buying an additional 271,225 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of Deluxe by 56.8% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 681,181 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $15,211,000 after buying an additional 246,767 shares during the period. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Deluxe by 49.9% during the second quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 634,447 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $10,094,000 after buying an additional 211,109 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP bought a new stake in shares of Deluxe during the third quarter valued at about $2,753,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Deluxe by 14.0% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,109,656 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $24,779,000 after buying an additional 136,139 shares during the period. 93.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Deluxe Company Profile

Deluxe Corporation, founded in 1915 and headquartered in Shoreview, Minnesota, is a provider of integrated business and financial technology solutions. Originally established as a check printing company, Deluxe has evolved its offerings to support small businesses, financial institutions and entrepreneurs with a comprehensive suite of services spanning print, digital and software platforms.

The company’s core business activities include printing checks, forms and promotional materials, as well as delivering digital marketing and customer engagement solutions.