Federal Signal (FSS) and Its Peers Head to Head Comparison

Federal Signal (NYSE:FSS) is one of 436 public companies in the “Machinery” industry, but how does it compare to its rivals? We will compare Federal Signal to related companies based on the strength of its institutional ownership, dividends, risk, valuation, analyst recommendations, profitability and earnings.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and target prices for Federal Signal and its rivals, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Federal Signal	0	2	4	0	2.67
Federal Signal Competitors	4194	14692	18188	804	2.41

Federal Signal currently has a consensus target price of $135.25, suggesting a potential upside of 14.79%. As a group, “Machinery” companies have a potential upside of 32.02%. Given Federal Signal’s rivals higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Federal Signal has less favorable growth aspects than its rivals.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

92.7% of Federal Signal shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 51.7% of shares of all “Machinery” companies are owned by institutional investors. 3.3% of Federal Signal shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 14.3% of shares of all “Machinery” companies are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Dividends

Federal Signal pays an annual dividend of $0.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.5%. Federal Signal pays out 12.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. As a group, “Machinery” companies pay a dividend yield of 2.8% and pay out 24.6% of their earnings in the form of a dividend. Federal Signal has increased its dividend for 3 consecutive years.

Profitability

This table compares Federal Signal and its rivals’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Federal Signal	11.65%	21.31%	12.91%
Federal Signal Competitors	-1,044.47%	-15.02%	0.57%

Volatility & Risk

Federal Signal has a beta of 1.22, meaning that its share price is 22% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Federal Signal’s rivals have a beta of 5.11, meaning that their average share price is 411% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Federal Signal and its rivals gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
Federal Signal	$2.18 billion	$246.60 million	24.44
Federal Signal Competitors	$4.63 billion	$364.05 million	3.97

Federal Signal’s rivals have higher revenue and earnings than Federal Signal. Federal Signal is trading at a higher price-to-earnings ratio than its rivals, indicating that it is currently more expensive than other companies in its industry.

Summary

Federal Signal beats its rivals on 8 of the 15 factors compared.

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.