4D Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in Federal Signal Co. (NYSE:FSS)

4D Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Federal Signal Co. (NYSE:FSS - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 50,000 shares of the conglomerate's stock, valued at approximately $4,620,000. Federal Signal accounts for approximately 3.2% of 4D Advisors LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest position. 4D Advisors LLC owned 0.08% of Federal Signal as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of FSS. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Federal Signal by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,247,803 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $669,625,000 after acquiring an additional 93,597 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in Federal Signal by 12.4% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,199,200 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $203,184,000 after purchasing an additional 242,840 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Federal Signal by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,630,971 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $150,715,000 after purchasing an additional 29,197 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of Federal Signal by 19.4% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,469,614 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $135,778,000 after buying an additional 238,608 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Federal Signal by 56.5% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 894,136 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $82,609,000 after buying an additional 322,676 shares during the period. 92.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FSS has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Raymond James cut their price objective on Federal Signal from $105.00 to $100.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Federal Signal from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, March 1st.

Federal Signal Price Performance

NYSE FSS traded up $2.27 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $86.51. The stock had a trading volume of 923,717 shares, compared to its average volume of 431,845. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $76.98 and a 200 day simple moving average of $87.96. The company has a quick ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 2.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The company has a market cap of $5.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.07, a P/E/G ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.11. Federal Signal Co. has a 52-week low of $66.47 and a 52-week high of $102.18.

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

Federal Signal announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Tuesday, April 22nd that authorizes the company to buyback $150.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the conglomerate to buy up to 3.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

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 paid a dividend of $0.14 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.65%. Federal Signal's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Jennifer L. Sherman purchased 1,250 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 owns 559,183 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $46,031,944.56. This represents a 0.22 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 3.30% 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.