Federal Signal Corporation (NYSE:FSS) Stock Holdings Increased by Jefferies Financial Group Inc.

Key Points

• Jefferies Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Federal Signal Corporation by 287.0%, holding a total of 9,736 shares valued at approximately $716,000 after purchasing 7,220 additional shares in the first quarter.
• Federal Signal announced a share repurchase plan allowing up to $150 million in stock buybacks, indicating the board's belief that the stock is undervalued.
• The company will pay a quarterly dividend of $0.14 on August 28th, which reflects a 0.4% dividend yield and a payout ratio of 15.60%.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Federal Signal Corporation (NYSE:FSS - Free Report) by 287.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 9,736 shares of the conglomerate's stock after purchasing an additional 7,220 shares during the quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in Federal Signal were worth $716,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Capital World Investors purchased a new position in Federal Signal during the fourth quarter worth $79,810,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Federal Signal in the fourth quarter valued at $36,636,000. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Federal Signal in the first quarter valued at $26,144,000. First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Federal Signal by 56.5% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 894,136 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $82,609,000 after purchasing an additional 322,676 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of Federal Signal by 12.4% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,199,200 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $203,184,000 after purchasing an additional 242,840 shares during the period. 92.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Federal Signal Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of NYSE FSS traded down $0.77 on Friday, hitting $125.38. The company had a trading volume of 338,350 shares, compared to its average volume of 911,893. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 2.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. Federal Signal Corporation has a 12-month low of $66.47 and a 12-month high of $128.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.92, a PEG ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.30. The business has a 50 day moving average of $108.32 and a two-hundred day moving average of $93.44.

Federal Signal (NYSE:FSS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The conglomerate reported $1.17 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $537.24 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.95 EPS. Federal Signal's revenue for the quarter was up 15.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Federal Signal Corporation will post 3.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Federal Signal Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 28th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid a $0.14 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Federal Signal's payout ratio is 15.60%.

Federal Signal announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, April 22nd that permits the company to repurchase $150.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the conglomerate to repurchase up to 3.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on FSS shares. Raymond James Financial lifted their price objective on Federal Signal from $120.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Wall Street Zen raised Federal Signal from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. CJS Securities restated a "market perform" rating and set a $125.00 price target on shares of Federal Signal in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. KeyCorp restated a "sector weight" rating on shares of Federal Signal in a report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, DA Davidson boosted their target price on Federal Signal from $100.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $123.00.

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.