Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV Sells 663 Shares of Federal Signal Co. (NYSE:FSS)

Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV reduced its position in Federal Signal Co. (NYSE:FSS) by 13.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,226 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 663 shares during the quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV’s holdings in Federal Signal were worth $390,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. California Public Employees Retirement System boosted its stake in shares of Federal Signal by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 89,654 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $8,283,000 after purchasing an additional 514 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in shares of Federal Signal by 338.7% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 145,188 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $13,569,000 after purchasing an additional 112,092 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Federal Signal by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 780,513 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $72,112,000 after purchasing an additional 11,466 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Federal Signal by 84.1% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 219,147 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $20,247,000 after purchasing an additional 100,135 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Federal Signal in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $36,636,000. 92.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Federal Signal Trading Down 0.7%

NYSE:FSS opened at $93.73 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $78.56 and its 200-day moving average is $88.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a current ratio of 2.83. Federal Signal Co. has a 52 week low of $66.47 and a 52 week high of $102.18. The firm has a market cap of $5.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.23.

Federal Signal (NYSE:FSS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The conglomerate reported $0.76 EPS 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 company had revenue of $463.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $462.63 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.64 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Federal Signal Co. will post 3.34 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Federal Signal Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be paid a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.60%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. Federal Signal’s dividend payout ratio is currently 16.37%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Jennifer L. Sherman bought 1,250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The shares were bought at an average price of $82.32 per share, for a total transaction of $102,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 559,183 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $46,031,944.56. The trade was a 0.22% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 3.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on FSS. DA Davidson raised their price target on shares of Federal Signal from $82.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Raymond James cut their target price 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. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Federal Signal from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $110.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Federal Signal from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Federal Signal presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $98.00.

Federal Signal Company Profile

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.