Gotham Asset Management LLC Decreases Stake in Federal Signal Co. (NYSE:FSS)

Gotham Asset Management LLC trimmed its position in Federal Signal Co. (NYSE:FSS - Free Report) by 39.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 11,602 shares of the conglomerate's stock after selling 7,714 shares during the period. Gotham Asset Management LLC's holdings in Federal Signal were worth $1,072,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Capital World Investors acquired a new position in shares of Federal Signal in the fourth quarter worth about $79,810,000. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Federal Signal in the 4th quarter valued at about $78,192,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Federal Signal in the 4th quarter valued at about $36,636,000. First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in Federal Signal by 56.5% in 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 period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in Federal Signal by 12.4% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. 92.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FSS has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. KeyCorp upgraded Federal Signal from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $110.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Raymond James cut their price target on shares of Federal Signal from $105.00 to $100.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. DA Davidson upped their price objective on shares of Federal Signal from $82.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Federal Signal from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, March 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $98.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Jennifer L. Sherman bought 1,250 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $82.32 per share, for a total transaction of $102,900.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 559,183 shares of the company's stock, valued at $46,031,944.56. The trade was a 0.22% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 3.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Federal Signal Price Performance

Shares of NYSE FSS traded up $0.30 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $93.47. The stock had a trading volume of 134,918 shares, compared to its average volume of 555,203. 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 stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $80.18 and a 200-day simple moving average of $88.55. The company has a market capitalization of $5.70 billion, a PE ratio of 27.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.23. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The conglomerate reported $0.76 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $463.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 for the quarter was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.64 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Federal Signal Co. will post 3.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Federal Signal Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a dividend of $0.14 per share. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.60%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. Federal Signal's payout ratio is currently 16.37%.

Federal Signal announced that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Tuesday, April 22nd that allows the company to repurchase $150.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the conglomerate to purchase up to 3.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.