Federal Signal Co. (NYSE:FSS) Sees Significant Drop in Short Interest

Federal Signal Co. (NYSE:FSS - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest during the month of 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 company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 391,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 6.5 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Federal Signal Stock Performance

Federal Signal stock traded down $0.96 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $96.88. 1,096,262 shares of the stock traded hands, 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 company has a current ratio of 2.83, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The firm 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 fifty day moving average price of $94.62 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $91.99.

Federal Signal (NYSE:FSS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The conglomerate reported $0.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.84 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $474.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $481.71 million. Federal Signal had a return on equity of 18.46% and a net margin of 11.57%. The business's revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.71 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Federal Signal will post 3.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Federal Signal Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th were issued a $0.12 dividend. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. Federal Signal's payout ratio is currently 13.91%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Federal Signal

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Federal Signal by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 20,311 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $1,699,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares during the period. Albion Financial Group UT raised its holdings in Federal Signal by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 12,126 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $1,120,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. lifted its position in Federal Signal by 4.1% in the third quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 4,269 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $399,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares during the period. Xponance Inc. boosted its stake in Federal Signal by 4.9% during the 2nd quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 3,812 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $319,000 after purchasing an additional 178 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP increased its position in shares of Federal Signal by 73.5% during the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 432 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.73% of the company's stock.

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.

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