ProShare Advisors LLC Raises Stake in Federal Signal Co. (NYSE:FSS)

ProShare Advisors LLC increased its position in Federal Signal Co. (NYSE:FSS) by 44.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 18,141 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 5,575 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC’s holdings in Federal Signal were worth $1,676,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. California Public Employees Retirement System raised its holdings in Federal Signal by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 89,654 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $8,283,000 after acquiring an additional 514 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC grew its position in shares of Federal Signal by 338.7% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 145,188 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $13,569,000 after purchasing an additional 112,092 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Federal Signal by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 780,513 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $72,112,000 after purchasing an additional 11,466 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Federal Signal by 84.1% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 219,147 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $20,247,000 after purchasing an additional 100,135 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Federal Signal during the fourth quarter worth about $36,636,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.73% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Federal Signal from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 1st. Raymond James lowered their target price on shares of Federal Signal from $105.00 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. KeyCorp raised shares of Federal Signal from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $110.00 price target for the company in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Finally, DA Davidson lifted their price target on shares of Federal Signal from $82.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Federal Signal currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $98.00.

Federal Signal Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:FSS opened at $93.16 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $80.18 and a two-hundred day moving average of $88.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.68 billion, a PE ratio of 27.00, a P/E/G ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 2.83 and a quick ratio of 1.36. Federal Signal Co. has a 12 month low of $66.47 and a 12 month high of $102.18.

Federal Signal (NYSE:FSS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The conglomerate reported $0.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.03. Federal Signal had a return on equity of 18.46% and a net margin of 11.57%. The business had revenue of $463.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $462.63 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.64 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Federal Signal Co. will post 3.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Federal Signal Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. Federal Signal’s payout ratio is currently 16.37%.

Federal Signal announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, April 22nd that authorizes the company to buyback $150.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the conglomerate to purchase up to 3.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Jennifer L. Sherman bought 1,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The stock was bought at an average price of $82.32 per share, with a total value of $102,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 559,183 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $46,031,944.56. This represents a 0.22% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 3.30% of the company’s stock.

Federal Signal Profile

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.