Federal Signal (NYSE:FSS) Trading 5.3% Higher - Should You Buy?

Federal Signal Co. (NYSE:FSS - Get Free Report) was up 5.3% on Thursday . The company traded as high as $84.55 and last traded at $84.22. Approximately 181,239 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 55% from the average daily volume of 403,045 shares. The stock had previously closed at $79.98.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on FSS. DA Davidson dropped their target price on Federal Signal from $94.00 to $90.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Federal Signal from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday. Finally, Raymond James reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $110.00 target price on shares of Federal Signal in a research note on Tuesday, December 24th.

Federal Signal Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 2.83 and a quick ratio of 1.36. The company has a market cap of $4.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.23, a PEG ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.01. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $94.72 and a 200-day simple moving average of $92.59.

Federal Signal (NYSE:FSS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The conglomerate reported $0.87 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.87. The business had revenue of $472.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $481.90 million. Federal Signal had a return on equity of 18.46% and a net margin of 11.57%. As a group, analysts predict that Federal Signal Co. will post 3.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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Federal Signal Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.14 dividend. This is a positive change from Federal Signal's previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.70%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Federal Signal's dividend payout ratio is currently 15.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Jennifer L. Sherman bought 1,250 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $82.32 per share, with a total value of $102,900.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 559,183 shares in the company, valued at approximately $46,031,944.56. The trade was a 0.22 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 3.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Federal Signal

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new position in shares of Federal Signal in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $13,686,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio boosted its position in Federal Signal by 18.7% in the 4th quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 21,443 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $1,981,000 after buying an additional 3,377 shares during the period. EDENTREE ASSET MANAGEMENT Ltd boosted its position in Federal Signal by 41.6% in the 4th quarter. EDENTREE ASSET MANAGEMENT Ltd now owns 18,055 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $1,669,000 after buying an additional 5,300 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in shares of Federal Signal by 14.4% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 174,401 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $16,113,000 after acquiring an additional 21,971 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vident Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Federal Signal during the fourth quarter worth $209,000. 92.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.