Citic (OTCMKTS:CTPCY) and Federal Signal (NYSE:FSS) Head-To-Head Survey

Citic (OTCMKTS:CTPCY) and Federal Signal (NYSE:FSS) are both multi-sector conglomerates companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, risk, institutional ownership, dividends, profitability, valuation and analyst recommendations.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent recommendations for Citic and Federal Signal, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Citic	0	0	0	0	0.00
Federal Signal	0	3	1	0	2.25

Federal Signal has a consensus target price of $123.00, suggesting a potential upside of 3.40%. Given Federal Signal’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Federal Signal is more favorable than Citic.

Volatility and Risk

Citic has a beta of 0.73, indicating that its stock price is 27% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Federal Signal has a beta of 1.32, indicating that its stock price is 32% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

Citic pays an annual dividend of $0.24 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.4%. Federal Signal pays an annual dividend of $0.56 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.5%. Federal Signal pays out 15.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Federal Signal has increased its dividend for 3 consecutive years.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Citic and Federal Signal”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Citic	$104.73 billion	N/A	$8.10 billion	N/A	N/A
Federal Signal	$1.97 billion	3.66	$216.30 million	$3.59	33.13

Citic has higher revenue and earnings than Federal Signal.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

92.7% of Federal Signal shares are held by institutional investors. 3.3% of Federal Signal shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Citic and Federal Signal’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Citic	N/A	N/A	N/A
Federal Signal	11.22%	18.91%	12.44%

Summary

Federal Signal beats Citic on 10 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Citic

CITIC Limited operates in financial services, advanced intelligent manufacturing, advanced materials, consumption, urbanization, resources and energy, and engineering contracting businesses worldwide. The Comprehensive Financial Services segment provides banking, investment research, securities brokerage, trust, insurance and reinsurance, investment banking, wealth and asset management, financial markets, equity investment, financing, and other integrated financial services. The Advanced Intelligent Manufacturing segment offers automotive aluminium wheels and lightweight cast components, and chassis and body systems; mining and heavy machinery, specialized robots and intelligent equipment, new energy and cement equipment, and special materials; operates industrial Internet platform; and provides engineering, procurement, and construction services. The Advanced Materials segment offers specialty steel products; chloride; explores, develops, and produces oil and magnetite; invests in coal and bauxite mining, imports and exports commodities, electrolytic aluminum, and alumina smelting; and invests in and manages power plants. The New Consumption segment provides telecommunications technology services; leases and sells satellite transponders; distributes motor and consumer products; and publishes books and digital books, as well as operates in bookstore retailing business. This segment also deals and distributes with supporting services for automotive brands; and develops agricultural science and technology, as well as engages in the brand development, manufacturing, commodity trading, agency distribution, logistics, and retail in the food and fast-moving consumer goods, healthcare, and electrical products industries. The company was formerly known as CITIC Pacific Limited and changed its name to CITIC Limited in August 2014. CITIC Limited was incorporated in 1985 and is based in Central, Hong Kong. CITIC Limited operates as a subsidiary of CITIC Group Corporation.

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. The Safety and Security Systems Group segment offers comprehensive systems and products that law enforcement, fire rescue, emergency medical services, campuses, military facilities, and industrial sites use to protect people and property. The company was founded in 1901 and is headquartered in Oak Brook, IL.