Deluxe Co. (NYSE:DLX) Short Interest Down 6.8% in November

Deluxe Co. (NYSE:DLX) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest in November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 2,340,000 shares, a decline of 6.8% from the November 15th total of 2,510,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 229,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 10.2 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded Deluxe from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday.

Deluxe Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of Deluxe stock traded up $0.25 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $23.57. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 230,104 shares, compared to its average volume of 230,607. Deluxe has a twelve month low of $18.48 and a twelve month high of $24.87. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $21.55 and a 200-day moving average of $21.22. The stock has a market cap of $1.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.01, a P/E/G ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.38, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.92.

Deluxe Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 19th were paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 19th. Deluxe’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 96.77%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Barry C. Mccarthy bought 2,290 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $23.57 per share, for a total transaction of $53,975.30. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 180,960 shares in the company, valued at $4,265,227.20. This represents a 1.28 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 4.23% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Deluxe

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of DLX. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Deluxe by 6.4% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,040,327 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $45,824,000 after purchasing an additional 123,361 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in Deluxe by 249.9% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 169,473 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,806,000 after acquiring an additional 121,042 shares in the last quarter. Arjuna Capital acquired a new position in Deluxe during the 3rd quarter worth about $1,490,000. Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Deluxe during the 3rd quarter worth about $1,303,000. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted its stake in Deluxe by 73.2% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 148,447 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,893,000 after acquiring an additional 62,715 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

About Deluxe

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.