Federal Signal (NYSE:FSS) Raised to "Buy" at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Federal Signal was upgraded from a "hold" to a "buy" rating by Wall Street Zen, following similar upgrades from other analysts with varied price objectives.
• The company reported a 15.1% increase in quarterly revenue year-over-year, achieving $564.60 million, alongside an earnings per share of $1.17 which beat expectations.
• Federal Signal's Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program allowing for the buyback of up to $150 million in outstanding shares, signaling confidence in the company’s valuation.

Federal Signal (NYSE:FSS - Get Free Report) was upgraded by analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report issued on Saturday.

FSS has been the topic of several other reports. DA Davidson raised their price objective on Federal Signal from $100.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday. Raymond James Financial increased their price objective on shares of Federal Signal from $120.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday. KeyCorp reiterated a "sector weight" rating on shares of Federal Signal in a report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, CJS Securities reiterated a "market perform" rating and set a $125.00 price objective on shares of Federal Signal in a research note on Thursday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Federal Signal has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $123.00.

Federal Signal Stock Down 3.2%

FSS stock opened at $122.48 on Friday. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $105.18 and its 200-day simple moving average is $92.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.47 billion, a PE ratio of 34.12, a P/E/G ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 2.60 and a quick ratio of 1.09. Federal Signal has a 12 month low of $66.47 and a 12 month high of $128.50.

Federal Signal (NYSE:FSS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The conglomerate reported $1.17 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.11. Federal Signal had a return on equity of 18.91% and a net margin of 11.22%. The firm had revenue of $564.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $537.24 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.95 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 15.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Federal Signal will post 3.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Federal Signal declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, April 22nd that permits the company to repurchase $150.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the conglomerate to repurchase up to 3.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of FSS. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Federal Signal by 19.1% in the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 226,161 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $24,068,000 after buying an additional 36,242 shares during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in Federal Signal by 5.1% during the second quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,339 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $249,000 after buying an additional 113 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Federal Signal by 36.1% during the second quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 21,286 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $2,265,000 after purchasing an additional 5,645 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC increased its holdings in Federal Signal by 10.3% in the 2nd quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 12,936 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $1,377,000 after buying an additional 1,212 shares during the period. Finally, R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in Federal Signal in the second quarter worth about $311,000. Institutional investors own 92.73% of the company's stock.

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.

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