Analyzing Ennis (NYSE:EBF) and Element Fleet Management (OTCMKTS:ELEEF)

Ennis (NYSE:EBF) and Element Fleet Management (OTCMKTS:ELEEF) are both industrials companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, profitability, analyst recommendations, dividends, earnings, risk and valuation.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

74.3% of Ennis shares are owned by institutional investors. 3.2% of Ennis shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Dividends

Ennis pays an annual dividend of $1.05 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.7%. Element Fleet Management pays an annual dividend of $0.42 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.8%. Ennis pays out 68.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Element Fleet Management pays out 56.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for Ennis and Element Fleet Management, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Ennis	0	1	0	0	2.00
Element Fleet Management	0	0	2	1	3.33

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Ennis and Element Fleet Management”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Ennis	$397.15 million	1.43	$42.63 million	$1.53	14.62
Element Fleet Management	$1.19 billion	5.03	$279.13 million	$0.74	20.61

Element Fleet Management has higher revenue and earnings than Ennis. Ennis is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Element Fleet Management, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares Ennis and Element Fleet Management’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Ennis	9.81%	12.58%	10.82%
Element Fleet Management	23.33%	24.75%	3.91%

Summary

Element Fleet Management beats Ennis on 10 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

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. It also provides point of purchase advertising under the Adams McClure brand name; presentation and document folders under the Admore, Folder Express, and Independent Folders brands; and custom printed, high-performance labels, and custom and stock tags under the Ennis Tag & Label brand name. In addition, the company offers custom and stock tags and labels under the Allen-Bailey Tag & Label, Atlas Tag & Label, Kay Toledo Tag, and Special Service Partners brands; custom and imprinted envelopes under the Trade Envelopes, Block Graphics, Wisco, and National Imprint Corporation brands; and financial and security documents under the Northstar and General Financial Supply brands; and custom and stock pressure seal documents under the Infoseal and PrintXcel brands. It distributes business products and forms through independent distributors, including business forms distributors, resellers, direct mail, commercial printers, payroll and accounts payable software companies, and advertising agencies. The company was formerly known as Ennis Business Forms, Inc. Ennis, Inc. was incorporated in 1909 and is headquartered in Midlothian, Texas.

About Element Fleet Management

Element Fleet Management Corp. operates as a fleet management company primarily in Canada, Mexico, Australia, and New Zealand. The company offers end-to-end fleet cars, trucks, and material handling support equipment acquisition; and end-to-end electric vehicle fleet including fleet planning, charging infrastructure solutions, acquisition, financing, maintenance, and remarketing. It provides commercial fleet financing comprising operating and capital lease, sale and leaseback funding, loans, rental fleet financing, client owned acquisition program, and fair market value lease for fleet cars, trucks, and equipment; and vehicle licensing and registration services, such as renewal, fleet title management, and insurance card management services. In addition, the company provides collision management services, such as 24/7 driver assistance, collision evaluation, repair management, and subrogation; fleet management outsourcing solutions; fuel, maintenance, and safety solutions; telematics and fleet connectivity solutions; and toll and violation management, as well as fleet remarketing, sale leaseback, and strategic fleet management consulting services. It serves construction, energy, oil and gas, food and beverages, healthcare, services, and transport sectors. Element Fleet Management Corp. was incorporated in 2007 and is based in Toronto, Canada.