Both Deluxe Corporation (NYSE:DLX) and Multi-Color Corporation (NASDAQ:LABL) are Business Services companies, competing one another. We will compare their risk, analyst recommendations, profitability, dividends, institutional ownership, earnings and valuation.
Earnings and Valuation
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Deluxe Corporation | 2.00B | 0.88 | 149.01M | 3.20 | 13.98 |
| Multi-Color Corporation | 1.74B | 0.59 | 75.30M | 3.39 | 14.84 |
Table 1 highlights Deluxe Corporation and Multi-Color Corporation’s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation. Multi-Color Corporation seems to has lower revenue, but higher earnings compared to Deluxe Corporation. Presently more affordable of the two stocks is the company with a lower P/E ratio. Deluxe Corporation’s shares have been trading at lower P/E ratio which means it is currently more affordable than Multi-Color Corporation.
Profitability
Table 2 provides us the return on assets, net margins and return on equity of both companies.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Deluxe Corporation | 7.45% | 14.9% | 6.5% |
| Multi-Color Corporation | 4.33% | 10.3% | 2.7% |
Volatility and Risk
Deluxe Corporation has a 1.35 beta, while its volatility is 35.00% which is more volatile than S&P 500. Multi-Color Corporation has a 1.38 beta and it is 38.00% more volatile than S&P 500.
Liquidity
Deluxe Corporation’s Current Ratio and Quick Ratio are 1.1 and 1 respectively. The Current Ratio and Quick Ratio of its competitor Multi-Color Corporation are 1.9 and 1.4 respectively. Multi-Color Corporation therefore has a better chance of paying off short and long-term obligations compared to Deluxe Corporation.
Dividends
Deluxe Corporation pays out its dividends annually at $1.2 per share and 2.83% dividend yield. Meanhile, Multi-Color Corporation’s yearly dividend is $0.2 per share and 0.4% dividend yield.
Analyst Recommendations
Recommendations and Ratings for Deluxe Corporation and Multi-Color Corporation can be find in next table.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Deluxe Corporation | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2.00 |
| Multi-Color Corporation | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2.00 |
Deluxe Corporation’s upside potential is 23.92% at a $50 average price target.
Institutional & Insider Ownership
Institutional investors held 87.6% of Deluxe Corporation shares and 82.8% of Multi-Color Corporation shares. 0.3% are Deluxe Corporation’s share held by insiders. Competitively, Multi-Color Corporation has 0.6% of it’s share held by insiders.
Performance
In this table we provide the Weekly, Monthly, Quarterly, Half Yearly, Yearly and YTD Performance of both pretenders.
| Performance (W) | Performance (M) | Performance (Q) | Performance (HY) | Performance (Y) | Performance (YTD) | |
| Deluxe Corporation | -8.3% | -4.68% | -10.44% | -25.51% | -36.48% | 16.47% |
| Multi-Color Corporation | 1.31% | 8.06% | 11.43% | -16.65% | -20.79% | 43.35% |
For the past year Deluxe Corporation has weaker performance than Multi-Color Corporation
Summary
Deluxe Corporation beats on 10 of the 15 factors Multi-Color Corporation.
Deluxe Corporation provides checks, forms, marketing solutions, accessories, and other products and services for small businesses and financial institutions. It operates through three segments: Small Business Services, Financial Services, and Direct Checks. The company provides checks; printed forms, such as deposit tickets, billing forms, work orders, job proposals, purchase orders, invoices, and personnel forms, as well as computer forms and check registers; and accessories and other products comprising envelopes, office supplies, stamps, and labels, as well as checkbook covers. It also offers Web services, which include logo and Web design; hosting and other Web services; search engine optimization; and marketing programs, including email, mobile, and social media, and other self-service marketing solutions. In addition, the company provides fraud protection and security, online and offline payroll services, and electronic checks; and promotional solutions, such as postcards, brochures, retail packaging supplies, apparel, greeting cards, and business cards. Further, it offers financial technology solutions to larger financial institutions, which comprise data-driven marketing solutions, including outsourced marketing campaign targeting and execution; treasury management solutions; and digital enablement solutions, including loyalty and rewards programs. It operates in the United States, Canada, Europe, and North and South America. The company was formerly known as Deluxe Check Printers, Incorporated and changed its name to Deluxe Corporation in 1988. Deluxe Corporation was founded in 1915 and is headquartered in Shoreview, Minnesota.
Multi-Color Corporation provides various label solutions. The company offers pressure sensitive labels; in-mold labels; heat transfer labels; shrink sleeve labels; cut and stack glue-applied labels comprising peel-away promotional labels, thermochromics, holographics, and metalized films; and promotional products, such as scratch-off coupons, static-clings, and tags. It also provides graphic and pre-press services; and various print methods consisting of flexographic, lithographic, rotogravure, letterpress, and digital services. The company serves producers of home and personal care, wine and spirit, food and beverage, healthcare, and specialty consumer products primarily in North, Central, and South America, as well as Europe, China, Southeast Asia, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa. Multi-Color Corporation was founded in 1916 and is based in Batavia, Ohio.
