Federal Signal (NYSE:FSS) Shares Cross Below 200 Day Moving Average - Should You Sell?

Key Points

• Federal Signal shares fell below their 200-day moving average of $115.70, reaching an intraday low of $111.20 before last trading at $111.78.
• Analyst opinions are mixed, but the consensus remains “Moderate Buy” with a $135.25 price target; four analysts rate the stock Buy and two rate it Hold.
• Quarterly EPS of $1.34 beat estimates of $1.32, while revenue of $655.5 million fell short of expectations; revenue nevertheless grew 18.1% year over year.

Federal Signal Corporation (NYSE:FSS - Get Free Report) passed below its 200-day moving average during trading on Thursday. The stock has a 200-day moving average of $115.70 and traded as low as $111.20. Federal Signal shares last traded at $111.78, with a volume of 630,433 shares traded.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on FSS shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded Federal Signal from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 1st. Zacks Research cut shares of Federal Signal from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. DA Davidson decreased their price target on Federal Signal from $132.00 to $126.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Federal Signal from $150.00 to $135.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Federal Signal from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Federal Signal presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $135.25.

Federal Signal Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a current ratio of 2.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.82 billion, a PE ratio of 23.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.22. The company's fifty day moving average price is $114.93 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $115.70.

Federal Signal (NYSE:FSS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 29th. The conglomerate reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.32 by $0.02. Federal Signal had a net margin of 11.65% and a return on equity of 21.31%. The company had revenue of $655.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $661.61 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.14 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 18.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Federal Signal Corporation will post 5.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Federal Signal Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 1st. Investors of record on Friday, November 13th will be given a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 13th. Federal Signal's dividend payout ratio is 12.45%.

Institutional Trading of Federal Signal

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in Federal Signal during the second quarter valued at $78,503,000. First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Federal Signal by 12.0% during the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,161,865 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $125,644,000 after buying an additional 124,270 shares during the last quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al bought a new stake in Federal Signal during the 2nd quarter valued at $2,660,000. Deutsche Bank AG bought a new stake in shares of Federal Signal during the second quarter valued at about $9,602,000. Finally, Emerald Investment Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Federal Signal in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $8,277,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.73% of the company's stock.

About Federal Signal

Federal Signal Corporation NYSE: FSS designs and manufactures equipment and systems used by municipalities, government agencies, industrial organizations and commercial customers. Its products support public safety, infrastructure maintenance, environmental protection and emergency response activities.

The company operates through two principal business areas: Environmental Solutions and Safety and Security Systems. Environmental Solutions products include street sweepers, sewer cleaners, vacuum trucks, hydro-excavation equipment, dump bodies and snow and ice control equipment.

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