Montanaro Asset Management Ltd Makes New Investment in Federal Signal Corporation (NYSE:FSS)

Key Points

• Montanaro Asset Management Ltd recently invested $1.35 million in Federal Signal Corporation by acquiring 18,400 shares in the first quarter of 2023.
• Federal Signal reported impressive quarterly earnings, with an EPS of $1.17 that surpassed estimates by $0.11 and a revenue of $564.60 million, reflecting a 15.1% year-over-year increase.
• The company has initiated a $150 million share repurchase plan, aiming to buy back up to 3.3% of its outstanding shares, indicating confidence in its stock valuation.

Montanaro Asset Management Ltd purchased a new position in Federal Signal Corporation (NYSE:FSS - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 18,400 shares of the conglomerate's stock, valued at approximately $1,353,000.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of FSS. LPL Financial LLC grew its holdings in Federal Signal by 57.4% in the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 21,098 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $1,949,000 after purchasing an additional 7,696 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company MN raised its holdings in Federal Signal by 30.3% during the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 75,084 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $6,937,000 after buying an additional 17,462 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Federal Signal by 17.3% during the fourth quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 184,902 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $17,083,000 after buying an additional 27,321 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can raised its holdings in Federal Signal by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 40,484 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $3,740,000 after buying an additional 736 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Federal Signal during the fourth quarter worth $36,636,000. 92.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Federal Signal Stock Performance

NYSE FSS traded down $3.41 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $124.35. 591,275 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 897,532. Federal Signal Corporation has a 1 year low of $66.47 and a 1 year high of $130.30. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $111.32 and its 200-day simple moving average is $94.40. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 2.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.64, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.30.

Federal Signal (NYSE:FSS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The conglomerate reported $1.17 earnings per share (EPS) 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $537.24 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.95 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 15.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Federal Signal Corporation will post 3.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Federal Signal Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 28th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.14 per share. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. Federal Signal's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.60%.

Federal Signal declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Tuesday, April 22nd that allows the company to buyback $150.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the conglomerate to buy up to 3.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.