Nuveen LLC Acquires New Stake in Federal Signal Corporation (NYSE:FSS)

Key Points

• Nuveen LLC has acquired a new stake in Federal Signal Corporation, purchasing 616,007 shares valued at approximately $45.3 million, which represents about 1.01% ownership.
• Federal Signal has recently seen analysts increase their price targets, with Raymond James Financial raising theirs from $120 to $145 and DA Davidson from $100 to $112.
• A quarterly dividend of $0.14 per share has been declared, with a payout ratio of 15.60%, and the company has authorized a $150 million stock repurchase program.

Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Federal Signal Corporation (NYSE:FSS - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 616,007 shares of the conglomerate's stock, valued at approximately $45,307,000. Nuveen LLC owned about 1.01% of Federal Signal as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FSS. Capital World Investors acquired a new stake in Federal Signal in the 4th quarter worth about $79,810,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Federal Signal in the 4th quarter worth about $36,636,000. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. acquired a new stake in Federal Signal in the 1st quarter worth about $26,144,000. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its stake 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 buying an additional 322,676 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ArrowMark Colorado Holdings LLC boosted its stake in Federal Signal by 67.9% in the 4th quarter. ArrowMark Colorado Holdings LLC now owns 518,486 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $47,903,000 after buying an additional 209,655 shares during the last quarter. 92.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Federal Signal Stock Performance

Federal Signal stock opened at $127.80 on Friday. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $110.82 and its 200 day moving average price is $94.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.77 billion, a PE ratio of 35.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 2.60. Federal Signal Corporation has a one year low of $66.47 and a one year high of $130.30.

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. The firm had revenue of $564.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $537.24 million. Federal Signal had a return on equity of 18.91% and a net margin of 11.22%. Federal Signal's revenue for the quarter was up 15.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.95 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Federal Signal Corporation will post 3.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Federal Signal Announces Dividend

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

Federal Signal declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, April 22nd that authorizes the company to buyback $150.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the conglomerate to purchase up to 3.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Federal Signal Company 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.

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