Vestcor Inc Purchases Shares of 4,333 Federal Signal Corporation (NYSE:FSS)

Key Points

• Vestcor Inc has invested approximately $319,000 in Federal Signal Corporation by acquiring 4,333 shares in the 1st quarter, as disclosed in its recent SEC filing.
• Federal Signal's recent earnings report exceeded analysts' expectations, with an EPS of $1.17 and revenue of $564.60 million, marking a 15.1% increase year-over-year.
• The company has approved a share buyback plan worth $150 million, allowing it to repurchase up to 3.3% of its outstanding shares, signaling confidence in its stock valuation.

Vestcor Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Federal Signal Corporation (NYSE:FSS - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 4,333 shares of the conglomerate's stock, valued at approximately $319,000.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new position in Federal Signal during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $876,000. California Public Employees Retirement System raised its position in Federal Signal by 0.6% during 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 in the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Federal Signal by 21.1% during 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 in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 185 shares during the period. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 4,405 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.73% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on FSS shares. CJS Securities restated a "market perform" rating and set a $125.00 target price on shares of Federal Signal in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. DA Davidson boosted their price target on Federal Signal from $100.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. KeyCorp reiterated a "sector weight" rating on shares of Federal Signal in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Raymond James Financial boosted their price target on Federal Signal from $120.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $123.00.

Federal Signal Price Performance

NYSE:FSS traded down $0.57 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $125.58. 109,984 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 587,052. Federal Signal Corporation has a 52-week low of $66.47 and a 52-week high of $128.50. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $107.69 and its 200 day moving average price is $93.26. The company has a current ratio of 2.60, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The company has a market cap of $7.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.98, a P/E/G ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.30.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $564.60 million during 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%. The business's revenue was up 15.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.95 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Federal Signal Corporation will post 3.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Federal Signal Dividend Announcement

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

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