Deluxe (NYSE:DLX) Shares Cross Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average – Time to Sell?

Deluxe Corporation (NYSE:DLX) shares passed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Thursday. The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $25.32 and traded as high as $28.03. Deluxe shares last traded at $27.7470, with a volume of 1,023,291 shares changing hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Deluxe from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 31st. Weiss Ratings raised Deluxe from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Thursday, October 8th. Finally, Barrington Research started coverage on Deluxe in a research note on Tuesday, September 29th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $31.00 price target on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Deluxe currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $31.00.

Deluxe Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $1.22 billion, a PE ratio of 14.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02, a current ratio of 1.20 and a quick ratio of 1.08. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $23.46 and its 200 day simple moving average is $25.34.

Deluxe (NYSE:DLX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 4th. The business services provider reported $1.06 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.95 by $0.11. Deluxe had a net margin of 4.91% and a return on equity of 23.51%. The business had revenue of $553.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $532.67 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.09 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Deluxe Corporation will post 3.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Deluxe Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 17th will be given a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 17th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.5%. Deluxe’s dividend payout ratio is 67.04%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lifted its stake in Deluxe by 3.3% in the first quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 23,291 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $641,000 after buying an additional 752 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Deluxe by 0.8% during the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 147,896 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,073,000 after acquiring an additional 1,220 shares during the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new position in shares of Deluxe in the 2nd quarter valued at $62,000. Quantinno Capital Management LP raised its position in Deluxe by 8.3% in the 1st quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 34,467 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $949,000 after purchasing an additional 2,649 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strs Ohio raised its position in Deluxe by 147.4% in the 1st quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 4,700 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $129,000 after purchasing an additional 2,800 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

Deluxe Company Profile

Deluxe Corporation is a provider of payments, marketing and business technology solutions serving small businesses, financial institutions and consumers. The company’s offerings include checks and related forms, business supplies, promotional products, website and digital marketing services, customer relationship management tools, data-driven marketing solutions and payment processing services.

Deluxe also provides receivables management, fraud prevention and other financial technology services designed to help businesses and financial institutions manage transactions and customer relationships.