Brokerages Set Deluxe Corporation (NYSE:DLX) PT at $23.00

Deluxe Corporation (NYSE:DLX) has earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the five ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $23.00.

DLX has been the topic of several research analyst reports. CJS Securities upgraded shares of Deluxe to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Wall Street Zen raised Deluxe from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, November 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Deluxe in a report on Monday, December 15th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Deluxe

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Prudential Financial Inc. raised its position in Deluxe by 18.3% during the 2nd quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 736,679 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $11,721,000 after buying an additional 113,886 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of Deluxe during the first quarter worth about $5,281,000. Voya Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Deluxe by 130.7% during the first quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 83,569 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,321,000 after acquiring an additional 47,345 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas purchased a new position in Deluxe during the second quarter worth about $1,577,000. Finally, Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new stake in Deluxe in the first quarter valued at about $325,000. 93.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Deluxe Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DLX opened at $22.20 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $20.05 and its 200-day simple moving average is $18.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $999.36 million, a PE ratio of 12.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 1.40. Deluxe has a fifty-two week low of $13.61 and a fifty-two week high of $23.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.13, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.99.

Deluxe (NYSE:DLX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 23rd. The business services provider reported $1.38 EPS for the quarter. The company had revenue of $454.49 million for the quarter. Deluxe had a net margin of 3.90% and a return on equity of 22.42%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Deluxe will post 2.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Deluxe Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 17th were paid a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 17th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.4%. Deluxe’s payout ratio is currently 65.57%.

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.