Two Sigma Advisers LP Decreases Stock Holdings in Federal Signal Co. (NYSE:FSS)

Two Sigma Advisers LP lessened its position in Federal Signal Co. (NYSE:FSS - Free Report) by 36.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 64,200 shares of the conglomerate's stock after selling 36,600 shares during the quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP owned approximately 0.11% of Federal Signal worth $5,931,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Federal Signal by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,247,803 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $669,625,000 after buying an additional 93,597 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its position 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 buying an additional 242,840 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of 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 last quarter. FMR LLC increased its position 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 purchasing an additional 238,608 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Federal Signal by 56.5% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 894,136 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $82,609,000 after purchasing an additional 322,676 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.73% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on FSS. DA Davidson boosted their price target on Federal Signal from $82.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Wall Street Zen lowered Federal Signal from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, March 1st. Raymond James lowered their price target on Federal Signal from $105.00 to $100.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, KeyCorp upgraded Federal Signal from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $110.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $98.00.

Federal Signal Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE FSS traded down $1.43 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $94.03. 255,000 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 437,499. The company's 50 day moving average price is $81.44 and its 200 day moving average price is $88.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.73 billion, a PE ratio of 27.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.23. Federal Signal Co. has a 12 month low of $66.47 and a 12 month high of $102.18. The company has a quick ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 2.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19.

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, beating 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 firm's quarterly revenue was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.64 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Federal Signal Co. will post 3.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Federal Signal Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be issued 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 is presently 16.37%.

Federal Signal declared that its Board of Directors has initiated 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 buy up to 3.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Federal Signal

In related news, CEO Jennifer L. Sherman purchased 1,250 shares of Federal Signal stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $82.32 per share, for a total transaction of $102,900.00. Following 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 purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 3.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.