Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Increases Stake in Federal Signal Corporation (NYSE:FSS)

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

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FSS. GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Federal Signal during the 1st quarter worth approximately $876,000. California Public Employees Retirement System raised its position in Federal Signal by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 89,654 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $8,283,000 after purchasing an additional 514 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Federal Signal by 21.1% in the 1st quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 15,641 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $1,150,000 after purchasing an additional 2,724 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its position in Federal Signal by 78.4% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 421 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in Federal Signal by 66.1% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 11,067 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $814,000 after purchasing an additional 4,405 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.73% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FSS has been the subject of several research reports. DA Davidson upped their price target on shares of Federal Signal from $100.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Raymond James Financial upped their price target on shares of 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 upgraded shares of Federal Signal from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. KeyCorp reiterated a "sector weight" rating on shares of Federal Signal in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, CJS Securities reiterated a "market perform" rating and issued a $125.00 price target on shares of Federal Signal in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Federal Signal has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $123.00.

Federal Signal Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:FSS traded up $0.59 on Thursday, reaching $125.95. 794,005 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 900,315. The company has a current ratio of 2.60, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. Federal Signal Corporation has a 1-year low of $66.47 and a 1-year high of $128.50. The firm has a market cap of $7.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a 50-day moving average of $107.69 and a 200-day moving average of $93.26.

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

Federal Signal Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. Federal Signal's dividend payout ratio is presently 15.60%.

Federal Signal declared that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Tuesday, April 22nd that permits the company to repurchase $150.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the conglomerate to purchase up to 3.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's management 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.