Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd Invests $553,000 in Federal Signal Corporation (NYSE:FSS)

Key Points

• Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd invested approximately $553,000 in Federal Signal Corporation by acquiring 7,515 shares in the first quarter.
• Federal Signal declared a quarterly dividend of $0.14 per share, with a dividend yield of 0.52%, and announced a stock repurchase plan authorizing $150 million to buy back 3.3% of its shares.
• Federal Signal's recent financial performance showed a quarterly earnings per share of $0.76, beating analysts' expectations, and a 9.2% increase in revenue compared to the previous year.

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in Federal Signal Corporation (NYSE:FSS - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 7,515 shares of the conglomerate's stock, valued at approximately $553,000.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in FSS. California Public Employees Retirement System boosted its position in Federal Signal by 0.6% during the fourth 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 holdings 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 acquiring an additional 2,724 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. raised 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 worth $31,000 after buying an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised 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 worth $814,000 after buying an additional 4,405 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Federal Signal by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 330,981 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $24,344,000 after purchasing an additional 7,425 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.73% of the company's stock.

Federal Signal Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of NYSE FSS traded up $1.13 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $125.08. 384,935 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 573,100. The firm has a market cap of $7.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.70, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 2.39. Federal Signal Corporation has a 12-month low of $66.47 and a 12-month high of $128.50. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $103.90 and a 200 day moving average price of $92.08.

Federal Signal (NYSE:FSS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. The business had revenue of $564.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $537.24 million. Federal Signal had a net margin of 11.10% and a return on equity of 18.44%. The business's revenue was up 15.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.95 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Federal Signal Corporation will post 3.34 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Federal Signal Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be given a $0.14 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.45%. Federal Signal's payout ratio is presently 16.37%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on FSS. KeyCorp reaffirmed a "sector weight" rating on shares of Federal Signal in a report on Friday, July 11th. DA Davidson increased their price objective on Federal Signal from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Raymond James Financial raised their price target on Federal Signal from $120.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday.

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.