StockNews.com Upgrades Ennis (NYSE:EBF) to Strong-Buy

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ennis (NYSE:EBF) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report released on Thursday.

Ennis Price Performance

NYSE EBF opened at $20.77 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $540.21 million, a P/E ratio of 13.06 and a beta of 0.41. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $21.01 and its two-hundred day moving average is $22.11. Ennis has a fifty-two week low of $18.88 and a fifty-two week high of $25.75.

Ennis (NYSE:EBF) last posted its earnings results on Monday, December 23rd. The industrial products company reported $0.39 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.39. Ennis had a return on equity of 12.16% and a net margin of 10.35%.

Ennis Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 6th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 9th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.82%. Ennis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.89%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ennis

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Ennis by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 706,924 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $17,195,000 after purchasing an additional 36,187 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in Ennis by 282.8% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 250,932 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $6,103,000 after buying an additional 185,373 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ennis by 61.9% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 28,751 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $699,000 after buying an additional 10,995 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning boosted its position in shares of Ennis by 84.9% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 57,093 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,389,000 after acquiring an additional 26,207 shares during the period. Finally, Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ennis in the second quarter worth $543,000. 74.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Ennis

Ennis, Inc manufactures and sells business forms and other business products in the United States. The company offers snap sets, continuous forms, laser cut sheets, tags, labels, envelopes, integrated products, jumbo rolls, and pressure sensitive products under the Ennis, Royal Business Forms, Block Graphics, 360º Custom Labels, ColorWorx, Enfusion, Uncompromised Check Solutions, VersaSeal, Ad Concepts, FormSource Limited, Star Award Ribbon Company, Witt Printing, B&D Litho, Genforms, PrintGraphics, Calibrated Forms, PrintXcel, Printegra, Forms Manufacturers, Mutual Graphics, TRI-C Business Forms, Major Business Systems, Independent Printing, Hoosier Data Forms, Hayes Graphics, Wright Business Graphics, Wright 360, Integrated Print & Graphics, the Flesh Company, Impressions Direct, and AmeriPrint brands.