FSSFederal Signal Corporation
Is it safe?
Solid, nothing alarming. Safe balance sheet, some accounting flags, quality moderate.
Financially healthy, low distress risk Altman Z-score, a bankruptcy-risk model from five balance-sheet ratios.
Some accounting flags, worth a closer look Beneish M-score, a forensic model that detects earnings-manipulation patterns (receivables outrunning sales, margins slipping, accrual-heavy profit).
Mixed fundamental signals Piotroski F-score, nine pass/fail tests of year-over-year financial health across profitability, balance sheet and efficiency. 7 to 9 is strong, 0 to 3 weak.
Insiders were net sellers (-$3.3M, 90 days to Oct 8, 2026), selling is often routine.
Rock-solid balance sheet, low leverage. A rule of thumb on leverage, not a credit rating.
Moderate price swings, typical volatility. Worst drawdown -33% · now 14% below its 52-week high.
Unless marked, from SEC EDGAR, as of Dec 31, 2025.
Against the whole market›
Percentile against every name Ryufin tracks. Higher is better; the tick marks the middle of the market. Context, not one of the checks above.
Where this answer is blind. Altman sits structurally low for utilities and pipelines; Beneish runs high for fast growers, since sales growth alone lifts it; banks and REITs are excluded.
Can FSS take a bad year?
Federal Signal Corporation carries $391M of net debt at 0.81× EBITDA: a load its earnings can carry.
Net debt · as at Q2 2026 · under two and a half years of EBITDA, comfortable
- Net debt / EBITDA
- 0.81×
Net debt / EBITDA · 0.54× a year ago · the load is going up
- Altman Z-score
- 7.04
Altman Z-score · safe zone, above 3
- Interest cover
- 19.3×
Interest cover · operating profit covers the interest bill several times over
Details›
- Total debtQ2 2026
- $454M
- Cash and short-term investments
- $63M
- Net debt
- $391M
- EBITDA, trailing twelve months
- $486M
- Operating profit, trailing twelve months
- $395M
- Debt / equity
- 0.30×
- Total debt / EBITDA
- 0.93×
- Annualised volatilitytwo years of daily moves
- 36%
- Worst drawdown on file
- −33%
- Below its 52-week high
- 14%
Balance sheet from SEC filings; drawdown and volatility from end-of-day closes; Altman Z from the filed statements.
Farm & Heavy Construction Machinery
Ranks #7 of 14 by RyuScore