Man Group plc Lowers Position in Federal Signal Co. (NYSE:FSS)

Man Group plc reduced its stake in shares of Federal Signal Co. (NYSE:FSS - Free Report) by 18.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 40,692 shares of the conglomerate's stock after selling 9,017 shares during the period. Man Group plc owned approximately 0.07% of Federal Signal worth $3,760,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Signaturefd LLC increased its holdings in Federal Signal by 37.4% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 606 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $56,000 after buying an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Federal Signal by 19.9% in the 4th quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 875 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $81,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. boosted its holdings in Federal Signal by 20.1% in the 4th quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 889 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $82,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares during the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its stake in shares of Federal Signal by 15.6% in the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 1,343 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $124,000 after acquiring an additional 181 shares during the period. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Federal Signal by 182.6% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,379 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $127,000 after acquiring an additional 891 shares during the period. 92.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Federal Signal Stock Up 3.8%

Shares of NYSE:FSS traded up $3.45 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $95.50. The stock had a trading volume of 512,373 shares, compared to its average volume of 438,229. The firm's 50 day moving average is $81.44 and its 200-day moving average is $88.73. Federal Signal Co. has a 1 year low of $66.47 and a 1 year high of $102.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a current ratio of 2.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.23.

Federal Signal (NYSE:FSS - Get Free Report) last issued its 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. Federal Signal had a net margin of 11.57% and a return on equity of 18.46%. The business had revenue of $463.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $462.63 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.64 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Federal Signal Co. will post 3.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Federal Signal declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, April 22nd that allows the company to buyback $150.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the conglomerate to repurchase up to 3.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Federal Signal Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be issued a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. Federal Signal's payout ratio is 16.37%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Jennifer L. Sherman bought 1,250 shares of Federal Signal stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The stock was bought at an average price of $82.32 per share, for a total transaction of $102,900.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 559,183 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $46,031,944.56. The trade was a 0.22% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 3.30% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FSS has been the topic of several recent research reports. KeyCorp raised shares of Federal Signal from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $110.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 12th. DA Davidson increased their price objective on shares of Federal Signal from $82.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Federal Signal from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, March 1st. Finally, Raymond James dropped their price objective on shares of Federal Signal from $105.00 to $100.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Federal Signal currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $98.00.

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.