Short Interest in Federal Signal Co. (NYSE:FSS) Expands By 22.0%

Federal Signal Co. (NYSE:FSS) saw a large growth in short interest during the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,830,000 shares, a growth of 22.0% from the October 15th total of 1,500,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 375,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.9 days. Currently, 3.1% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, DA Davidson decreased their target price on Federal Signal from $94.00 to $90.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 5th.

Federal Signal Trading Down 1.4 %

NYSE FSS traded down $1.29 on Friday, hitting $89.31. 446,756 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 532,548. Federal Signal has a twelve month low of $68.02 and a twelve month high of $102.18. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $89.04 and its 200-day moving average price is $89.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.89 and a beta of 0.95. 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 (NYSE:FSS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The conglomerate reported $0.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.84 by $0.04. Federal Signal had a net margin of 11.57% and a return on equity of 18.46%. The business had revenue of $474.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $481.71 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.71 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Federal Signal will post 3.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Federal Signal Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a $0.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.54%. Federal Signal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.91%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Federal Signal

In other Federal Signal news, Director Brenda Reichelderfer sold 25,685 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.99, for a total value of $2,388,448.15. Following the transaction, the director now owns 57,417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,339,206.83. This represents a 30.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 3.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its position in Federal Signal by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 20,311 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,699,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares during the period. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Federal Signal by 4.5% during the second quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 2,996 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $251,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the period. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. grew its position in Federal Signal by 4.1% during the third quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 4,269 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $399,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares in the last quarter. Xponance Inc. increased its stake in Federal Signal by 4.9% in the 2nd quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 3,812 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $319,000 after buying an additional 178 shares during the period. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Federal Signal by 2.9% in the 2nd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 6,339 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $530,000 after buying an additional 180 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.73% of the company’s 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.