Ameriprise Financial Inc. Acquires 123,892 Shares of Federal Signal Co. (NYSE:FSS)

Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its position in shares of Federal Signal Co. (NYSE:FSS - Free Report) by 21.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 691,798 shares of the conglomerate's stock after purchasing an additional 123,892 shares during the quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. owned 1.13% of Federal Signal worth $63,915,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Algert Global LLC lifted its position in Federal Signal by 68.9% in the 4th quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 111,432 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $10,295,000 after acquiring an additional 45,455 shares in the last quarter. ArrowMark Colorado Holdings LLC increased its stake in Federal Signal by 67.9% in the 4th quarter. ArrowMark Colorado Holdings LLC now owns 518,486 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $47,903,000 after buying an additional 209,655 shares during the last quarter. AXA S.A. increased its stake in Federal Signal by 19.4% in the 4th quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 74,650 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $6,897,000 after buying an additional 12,120 shares during the last quarter. 4D Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Federal Signal in the 4th quarter valued at $4,620,000. Finally, Freestone Grove Partners LP acquired a new stake in Federal Signal in the 4th quarter valued at $450,000. 92.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Federal Signal

In related news, CEO Jennifer L. Sherman bought 1,250 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $82.32 per share, with a total value of $102,900.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 559,183 shares in the company, valued at $46,031,944.56. The trade was a 0.22% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 3.30% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on FSS. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Federal Signal from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $110.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday. StockNews.com lowered shares of Federal Signal from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, March 1st. Raymond James lowered their price objective on shares of Federal Signal from $105.00 to $100.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Finally, DA Davidson boosted their price objective on shares of Federal Signal from $82.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $98.00.

Federal Signal Stock Performance

Shares of Federal Signal stock traded up $0.96 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $94.59. 382,771 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 436,295. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.23. 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 company has a fifty day moving average price of $78.00 and a 200-day moving average price of $88.09. Federal Signal Co. has a 1-year low of $66.47 and a 1-year high of $102.18.

Federal Signal (NYSE:FSS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. The business had revenue of $463.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $462.63 million. Federal Signal had a net margin of 11.57% and a return on equity of 18.46%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.64 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Federal Signal Co. will post 3.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Federal Signal declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Federal Signal Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. Federal Signal's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.37%.

Federal Signal Company 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.