Federal Signal Co. (NYSE:FSS) Sees Large Decrease in Short Interest

Federal Signal Co. (NYSE:FSS) saw a large decline in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,540,000 shares, a decline of 7.6% from the December 15th total of 2,750,000 shares. Approximately 4.3% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 391,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 6.5 days.

Federal Signal Price Performance

FSS traded down $0.96 on Friday, hitting $96.88. 1,096,262 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 300,808. Federal Signal has a fifty-two week low of $73.09 and a fifty-two week high of $102.18. The stock has a market cap of $5.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.08 and a beta of 1.01. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $94.62 and a 200-day moving average price of $92.10. The company has a current ratio of 2.83, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19.

Federal Signal (NYSE:FSS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The conglomerate reported $0.88 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.84 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $474.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $481.71 million. Federal Signal had a net margin of 11.57% and a return on equity of 18.46%. Federal Signal’s quarterly revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.71 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Federal Signal will post 3.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Federal Signal Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th were paid a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. Federal Signal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.91%.

Institutional Trading of Federal Signal

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Albion Financial Group UT raised its position in shares of Federal Signal by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 12,126 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,120,000 after buying an additional 153 shares during the period. Perpetual Ltd raised its position in Federal Signal by 88.5% in the fourth quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 8,860 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $819,000 after purchasing an additional 4,160 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC lifted its stake in shares of Federal Signal by 25.2% in the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 4,792 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $443,000 after purchasing an additional 963 shares during the last quarter. City Center Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Federal Signal during the 4th quarter worth $330,000. Finally, First Hawaiian Bank grew its holdings in shares of Federal Signal by 520.7% during the 4th quarter. First Hawaiian Bank now owns 17,751 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,640,000 after purchasing an additional 14,891 shares during the period. 92.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Federal Signal from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, December 28th. Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $110.00 price target on shares of Federal Signal in a research note on Tuesday, December 24th. Finally, DA Davidson lowered their price objective on Federal Signal from $94.00 to $90.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 5th.

About Federal Signal

Federal Signal Corp. engages in the design and manufacture of products and integrated solutions for municipal, governmental, industrial, and commercial customers. It operates through the Environmental Solutions Group and Safety and Security Systems Group segments. The Environment Solutions Group segment is involved in the manufacture and supply of street sweeper vehicles, sewer cleaners, vacuum loader trucks, hydro-excavation trucks, and water blasting equipment.