Federal Signal Co. (NYSE:FSS) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Federal Signal Co. (NYSE:FSS - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of April. As of April 30th, there was short interest totalling 756,000 shares, an increase of 32.1% from the April 15th total of 572,400 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 373,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.0 days. Currently, 1.3% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Federal Signal Price Performance

Shares of Federal Signal stock traded up $0.75 on Wednesday, hitting $87.52. The company had a trading volume of 226,828 shares, compared to its average volume of 351,824. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $83.09 and a 200-day simple moving average of $77.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 2.82 and a quick ratio of 1.29. The company has a market cap of $5.35 billion, a PE ratio of 29.57 and a beta of 1.02. Federal Signal has a 52 week low of $52.28 and a 52 week high of $88.47.

Federal Signal (NYSE:FSS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The conglomerate reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.55 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $424.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $425.58 million. Federal Signal had a net margin of 10.31% and a return on equity of 17.36%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 10.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.46 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Federal Signal will post 3.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Federal Signal Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Investors of record on Friday, May 17th will be paid a $0.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.55%. Federal Signal's dividend payout ratio is currently 16.22%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Federal Signal

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its stake in Federal Signal by 155.7% during the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 583 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 355 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new stake in Federal Signal in the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its position in Federal Signal by 28.1% during the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 638 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd grew its stake in Federal Signal by 223.6% during the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 893 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $76,000 after acquiring an additional 617 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ acquired a new position in shares of Federal Signal in the 3rd quarter valued at about $78,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.73% of the company's stock.

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.