Deluxe (NYSE:DLX) Hits New 52-Week Low - Time to Sell?

Deluxe Co. (NYSE:DLX - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $17.71 and last traded at $17.81, with a volume of 24577 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $17.98.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on DLX shares. Sidoti upgraded shares of Deluxe to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Deluxe from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th.

Deluxe Trading Down 1.9 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The company's fifty day moving average is $21.68 and its 200-day moving average is $20.94. The stock has a market cap of $753.25 million, a PE ratio of 14.42, a PEG ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 1.52.

Deluxe (NYSE:DLX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The business services provider reported $0.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.80 by ($0.05). Deluxe had a return on equity of 21.33% and a net margin of 2.49%. On average, analysts predict that Deluxe Co. will post 2.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Deluxe Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.05%. Deluxe's payout ratio is 101.69%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Deluxe

In related news, CEO Barry C. Mccarthy bought 2,290 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $23.57 per share, for a total transaction of $53,975.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 180,960 shares in the company, valued at $4,265,227.20. This trade represents a 1.28 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 4.23% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Deluxe

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of DLX. Wealthfront Advisers LLC acquired a new position in Deluxe during the fourth quarter worth about $220,326,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Deluxe by 8.1% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,361,658 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $53,351,000 after purchasing an additional 177,534 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Deluxe in the fourth quarter valued at $3,210,000. Prudential Financial Inc. grew its stake in shares of Deluxe by 24.7% in the fourth quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 596,977 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $13,486,000 after buying an additional 118,300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its stake in shares of Deluxe by 34.2% in the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 408,069 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $9,218,000 after buying an additional 103,989 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.90% of the company's stock.

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.