MetLife Investment Management LLC Buys 2,389 Shares of Federal Signal Co. (NYSE:FSS)

MetLife Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Federal Signal Co. (NYSE:FSS) by 7.0% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 36,325 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 2,389 shares during the quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Federal Signal were worth $3,356,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Mather Group LLC. raised its holdings in Federal Signal by 20.1% during the 4th quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 889 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $82,000 after buying an additional 149 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System increased its position in Federal Signal by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 17,746 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,640,000 after acquiring an additional 152 shares during the last quarter. Albion Financial Group UT raised its stake in shares of Federal Signal by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 12,126 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,120,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Federal Signal by 37.4% in the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 606 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $56,000 after acquiring an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its stake in shares of Federal Signal by 15.6% during the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 1,343 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $124,000 after purchasing an additional 181 shares during the period. 92.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on FSS. Raymond James reduced their price objective on shares of Federal Signal from $105.00 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. StockNews.com downgraded Federal Signal from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, March 1st.

Insider Activity at Federal Signal

In other Federal Signal news, CEO Jennifer L. Sherman purchased 1,250 shares of Federal Signal stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $82.32 per share, for a total transaction of $102,900.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 559,183 shares in the company, valued at $46,031,944.56. This trade represents a 0.22 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 3.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Federal Signal Trading Down 2.0 %

NYSE FSS opened at $75.21 on Friday. Federal Signal Co. has a 12 month low of $66.47 and a 12 month high of $102.18. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $78.35 and its 200-day moving average price is $88.42. The stock has a market cap of $4.60 billion, a PE ratio of 21.80, a PEG ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a current ratio of 2.83, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19.

Federal Signal (NYSE:FSS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The conglomerate reported $0.87 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.87. Federal Signal had a net margin of 11.57% and a return on equity of 18.46%. The firm had revenue of $472.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $481.90 million. Equities research analysts forecast that Federal Signal Co. will post 3.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Federal Signal Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.14 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.74%. Federal Signal’s dividend payout ratio is currently 15.95%.

Federal Signal declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, April 22nd that allows the company to buyback $150.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the conglomerate to purchase up to 3.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.