Royce & Associates LP Lowers Stock Position in Ennis, Inc. (NYSE:EBF)

Royce & Associates LP trimmed its holdings in shares of Ennis, Inc. (NYSE:EBF - Free Report) by 1.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,468,000 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 17,200 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP owned about 5.64% of Ennis worth $29,492,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. LPL Financial LLC increased its stake in shares of Ennis by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 11,953 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $252,000 after purchasing an additional 604 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Ennis by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 66,581 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,404,000 after purchasing an additional 620 shares in the last quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Ennis by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 35,627 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $716,000 after purchasing an additional 693 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC increased its stake in shares of Ennis by 20.5% during the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,526 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $91,000 after purchasing an additional 770 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Ennis by 8.5% during the 4th quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 15,648 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $330,000 after purchasing an additional 1,221 shares in the last quarter. 74.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Ennis from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd.

Ennis Price Performance

EBF stock traded up $0.16 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $18.11. The stock had a trading volume of 108,196 shares, compared to its average volume of 173,604. The firm has a market cap of $467.15 million, a PE ratio of 11.91 and a beta of 0.46. Ennis, Inc. has a 12-month low of $17.15 and a 12-month high of $25.75. The company's 50-day moving average price is $18.50 and its 200 day moving average price is $19.48.

Ennis (NYSE:EBF - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, June 23rd. The industrial products company reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.37 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $97.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $99.30 million. Ennis had a net margin of 10.12% and a return on equity of 12.49%.

Ennis Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 11th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 11th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.52%. Ennis's payout ratio is currently 65.79%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ennis news, Director Michael J. Schaefer sold 2,000 shares of Ennis stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.86, for a total value of $35,720.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 30,747 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $549,141.42. The trade was a 6.11% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 5,008 shares of company stock valued at $89,864. 3.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.