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

Federal Signal Co. (NYSE:FSS) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest in the month of July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totalling 628,400 shares, a decrease of 10.5% from the July 15th total of 702,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 327,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.9 days. Currently, 1.1% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Federal Signal Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:FSS traded down $0.13 during trading on Monday, reaching $95.05. The company had a trading volume of 192,310 shares, compared to its average volume of 339,943. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 2.89 and a quick ratio of 1.35. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $89.92 and its 200 day moving average price is $85.40. Federal Signal has a fifty-two week low of $56.37 and a fifty-two week high of $102.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.16 and a beta of 0.95.

Federal Signal (NYSE:FSS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The conglomerate reported $0.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.84 by $0.11. Federal Signal had a net margin of 11.16% and a return on equity of 18.31%. The company had revenue of $490.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $487.74 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.67 EPS. Federal Signal’s revenue was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Federal Signal will post 3.24 EPS for the current year.

Federal Signal Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 16th will be issued a $0.12 dividend. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 16th. Federal Signal’s dividend payout ratio is presently 16.22%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Federal Signal

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FSS. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Federal Signal during the fourth quarter worth about $52,130,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in shares of Federal Signal by 946.5% during the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 322,088 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $27,336,000 after acquiring an additional 291,309 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Federal Signal by 77.8% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 445,776 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $37,298,000 after acquiring an additional 195,017 shares during the period. Axiom Investors LLC DE increased its stake in Federal Signal by 189.5% in the 4th quarter. Axiom Investors LLC DE now owns 239,455 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $18,376,000 after purchasing an additional 156,755 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Driehaus Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Federal Signal by 20.3% during the second quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC now owns 912,392 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $76,340,000 after purchasing an additional 153,765 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.73% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, William Blair initiated coverage on Federal Signal in a report on Friday, May 31st. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock.

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.