Brevan Howard Capital Management LP Raises Stock Position in Federal Signal Co. (NYSE:FSS)

Brevan Howard Capital Management LP grew its stake in Federal Signal Co. (NYSE:FSS - Free Report) by 35.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,282 shares of the conglomerate's stock after buying an additional 4,228 shares during the quarter. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP's holdings in Federal Signal were worth $1,504,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake 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 worth $669,625,000 after acquiring an additional 93,597 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in Federal Signal by 12.4% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,199,200 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $203,184,000 after purchasing an additional 242,840 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings 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 valued at $150,715,000 after buying an additional 29,197 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of Federal Signal by 19.4% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,469,614 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $135,778,000 after buying an additional 238,608 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Federal Signal by 56.5% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 894,136 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $82,609,000 after acquiring an additional 322,676 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.73% of the company's stock.

Federal Signal Trading Up 4.2%

Shares of NYSE:FSS traded up $3.72 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $93.28. 111,569 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 434,235. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.23. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $77.74 and a 200-day moving average price of $88.03. Federal Signal Co. has a 1 year low of $66.47 and a 1 year high of $102.18. 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 (NYSE:FSS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The conglomerate reported $0.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $463.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $462.63 million. Federal Signal had a return on equity of 18.46% and a net margin of 11.57%. Federal Signal's quarterly revenue was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.64 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Federal Signal Co. will post 3.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Federal Signal declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, April 22nd that authorizes the company to buyback $150.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the conglomerate to reacquire up to 3.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Federal Signal Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be paid a $0.14 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.60%. Federal Signal's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.37%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Federal Signal

In other Federal Signal news, CEO Jennifer L. Sherman acquired 1,250 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $82.32 per share, with a total value of $102,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 559,183 shares of the company's stock, valued at $46,031,944.56. This trade represents a 0.22% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 3.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FSS has been the subject of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com cut Federal Signal from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, March 1st. KeyCorp raised Federal Signal from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $110.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday. DA Davidson lifted their target price on Federal Signal from $82.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Raymond James decreased their price target on Federal Signal from $105.00 to $100.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $98.00.

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.