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

Federal Signal Co. (NYSE:FSS) was the target of a significant increase in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,200,000 shares, an increase of 22.8% from the February 28th total of 3,420,000 shares. Currently, 7.1% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 498,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 8.4 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on FSS. StockNews.com lowered shares of Federal Signal from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, March 1st. Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $110.00 price objective on shares of Federal Signal in a research report on Tuesday, December 24th.

Federal Signal Stock Up 2.1 %

NYSE:FSS traded up $1.52 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $75.07. 675,123 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 397,937. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 2.83 and a quick ratio of 1.36. Federal Signal has a twelve month low of $72.79 and a twelve month high of $102.18. The stock has a market cap of $4.59 billion, a PE ratio of 21.76, a PEG ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.02. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $87.86 and a 200 day moving average of $90.80.

Federal Signal (NYSE:FSS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The conglomerate reported $0.87 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.87. Federal Signal had a net margin of 11.57% and a return on equity of 18.46%. The business had revenue of $472.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $481.90 million. On average, equities analysts expect that Federal Signal will post 3.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Federal Signal Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.14 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from Federal Signal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.75%. Federal Signal’s dividend payout ratio is 15.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Jennifer L. Sherman acquired 1,250 shares of Federal Signal stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $82.32 per share, with a total value of $102,900.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 559,183 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $46,031,944.56. The trade was a 0.22 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 3.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Federal Signal by 338.7% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 145,188 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $13,569,000 after buying an additional 112,092 shares during the last quarter. First Hawaiian Bank grew its position in shares of Federal Signal by 520.7% in the 4th quarter. First Hawaiian Bank now owns 17,751 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,640,000 after acquiring an additional 14,891 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in shares of Federal Signal by 17.6% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 152,430 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $14,246,000 after purchasing an additional 22,821 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Federal Signal by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 780,513 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $72,112,000 after purchasing an additional 11,466 shares during the period. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Federal Signal by 84.1% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 219,147 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $20,247,000 after purchasing an additional 100,135 shares during the last quarter. 92.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.