BNP Paribas Financial Markets Reduces Holdings in Federal Signal Co. (NYSE:FSS)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets decreased its position in shares of Federal Signal Co. (NYSE:FSS) by 76.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 13,173 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 43,616 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets’ holdings in Federal Signal were worth $1,217,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Federal Signal by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,247,803 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $669,625,000 after buying an additional 93,597 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in Federal Signal by 12.4% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,199,200 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $203,184,000 after buying an additional 242,840 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Federal Signal by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,630,971 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $150,715,000 after buying an additional 29,197 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its stake in Federal Signal by 19.4% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,469,614 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $135,778,000 after buying an additional 238,608 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in Federal Signal by 56.5% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 894,136 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $82,609,000 after buying an additional 322,676 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.73% of the company’s stock.

Federal Signal Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:FSS opened at $95.90 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 2.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. Federal Signal Co. has a fifty-two week low of $66.47 and a fifty-two week high of $102.18. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $79.47 and a 200 day simple moving average of $88.48. The company has a market cap of $5.85 billion, a PE ratio of 27.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.23.

Federal Signal (NYSE:FSS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The conglomerate reported $0.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.03. Federal Signal had a net margin of 11.57% and a return on equity of 18.46%. The business had revenue of $463.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $462.63 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.64 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Federal Signal Co. will post 3.34 EPS for the current year.

Federal Signal Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.14 per share. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.58%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. Federal Signal’s payout ratio is 16.37%.

Federal Signal declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, April 22nd that permits the company to buyback $150.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the conglomerate to purchase up to 3.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FSS has been the subject of several research analyst reports. KeyCorp raised shares of Federal Signal from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $110.00 target price for the company in a research report on Monday, May 12th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Federal Signal from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 1st. Raymond James dropped their target price on shares of Federal Signal from $105.00 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, DA Davidson boosted their target price on shares of Federal Signal from $82.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $98.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Federal Signal

In other news, CEO Jennifer L. Sherman bought 1,250 shares of Federal Signal stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The stock was purchased at an average cost 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 approximately $46,031,944.56. This trade represents a 0.22% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 3.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.