Short Interest in Ennis, Inc. (NYSE:EBF) Grows By 22.3%

Ennis, Inc. (NYSE:EBF - Get Free Report) was the target of a large growth in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,090,000 shares, a growth of 22.3% from the March 15th total of 891,200 shares. Currently, 4.5% of the company's stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 190,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 5.7 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com cut shares of Ennis from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday.

Ennis Stock Performance

Shares of EBF traded up $0.12 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $18.14. 55,813 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 148,041. The company has a market cap of $471.98 million, a PE ratio of 11.41 and a beta of 0.40. The firm's 50 day moving average is $20.17 and its 200-day moving average is $20.76. Ennis has a 52 week low of $17.15 and a 52 week high of $25.75.

Ennis (NYSE:EBF - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 21st. The industrial products company reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.37 by ($0.02). Ennis had a net margin of 10.35% and a return on equity of 12.16%. The company had revenue of $92.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $95.60 million.

Ennis Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 5th. Investors of record on Monday, April 14th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 14th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.51%. Ennis's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.52%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of EBF. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in shares of Ennis by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,617,581 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $33,888,000 after purchasing an additional 50,792 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP grew its holdings in Ennis by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 1,485,200 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $31,323,000 after buying an additional 5,601 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Ennis by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 723,432 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $15,260,000 after buying an additional 16,508 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Ennis by 5.4% during the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 629,143 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $13,269,000 after buying an additional 31,985 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in shares of Ennis by 27.5% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 617,207 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $13,017,000 after acquiring an additional 133,036 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.33% of the company's stock.

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.